Accord
by absolutefiction
Summary: [Sequel to Enigma] With the sudden increase in supposed 'animal attacks' that keep cropping up around the city, Lucy realizes she was kidding herself thinking she could leave it all behind her. But as tensions increase, Lucy begins to fear if there was something else that went bump in the night. Vampire!AU. NALU.
1. Bump in the Night

**A/N:** PLEASE DON'T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVE YET TO READ 'ENIGMA'. THIS IS A SEQUEL SO UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE CONFUSED, PLEASE TURN ON BACK AROUND AND PROCEED TO 'ENIGMA'. :)

For those of you who HAVE read 'Enigma' already, I thank you so much for giving me a second chance with this story. I hope you love this one, too!

 **Disclaimer:** The plot line may be mind, but the characters I use are not (except for Aiden whom you meet in this chapter). They belong to Fairy Tail's rightful king, Mashima.

* * *

The town was pitched black, only lit by a few sparse street lights here and there; the odd one flickering off and on. Silence engulfed this place. Many people were long ago tucked away in their beds, dreaming pleasantly as darker happenings lurked under the veil of darkness. Nothing seemed to stir or make a noise. Some would even call this time of night peaceful were it not for the steadily growing feelings of dread that filled in the cracks. Something was stirring up the shadows.

As if to challenge the night's authority, a soft clicking sound broke the silence. It steadily grew until finally the source came into view, stepping into the light the street lamps had to offer. It was a young woman, short in stature, but she made up for it in her sensual curves and clothing that left nothing to the imagination. Her heels, the culprit of the sudden onslaught of noise, clicked against the cement as she made her way to wherever it was she was going. She too, showed signs of worry, almost as if she felt the creeping sense of fear that seemed to plague this street in particular, as well. Her hands grabbed hold of her jacket, pulling the ends together and wrapping it around herself, as if the sinking feeling she held were all because of the usual night chill.

As if this all was not peculiar enough, the sound of a metal trash can hitting the ground jarred the young woman enough to make her jump and emit a cry of shock. Her heartbeat picked up, turning to see what caused the clang and, seeing nothing, the woman collected herself and took a deep breath before she pushed on; her pace noticeably quicker.

Her look of relief was abundantly obvious when she caught a glimpse of what must have been her place. She was practically skipping down the rest of the street before her, her hands releasing their tight grip on her jacket as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

However, just as her hand went to reach for the railing of the stairway, another hand of sorts reached out from the shadows of the alleyway next to her, gripping her loose jacket and ripping her away from safety within seconds. It all happened quicker than she could grasp, not even able to let out a sound before it was too late and she was pulled into the darkness.

Nothing but the eerie, wet sound of something abnormal and horrific stealing away its prey could be heard before plaguing silence returned once more.

* * *

"I'm all finished up front, Wendy!" Lucy called, a smile reaching her lips as she sneaked a quick peek into the back room that served as a break room for her and the other employees, "Anything else I can do before I take off?"

A smaller girl with long flowing dark hair turned to the blonde with a smile, "Thank you Lucy but I should be okay until Romeo comes to take over his shift!"

Lucy beamed back at the sweet girl, "Okay well, I'm off then! See you later, Wendy," and with an added wave that the girl returned, Lucy made her way outside and to the rest of her afternoon.

The blonde girl paused when she reached the sidewalk, taking a much needed moment to stretch out and lean her head back, soaking up the sun's rays and the smell of fresh air that hit her immediately upon exiting the small coffee shop she was employed by. The young blonde did not hate her job, necessarily, but it was not exactly something she desired to do the rest of her life either. Lucy had hoped for something more after graduating from the local community college nearby but with the current economy the way it was and all Lucy was not alone in her unemployment and less than desirable working environments. Nonetheless, Lucy adored the people she worked with, becoming quick friends with Wendy, as well as Levy, whom she met at community college and had aided the blonde in gaining employment at all.

Speaking of Levy, Lucy thought as she tugged her cell phone out of her pants' back pocket, the blonde usually received a text or voicemail from the blue haired friend of hers. The two girls had eventually become great friends after Lucy slowly learned to open up again to others back in their freshman year of college. It had been a long process, but Levy had been persistent and Lucy could not be more grateful for the firecracker that was her best friend and, most recently, her new roommate.

Glancing at her phone though, Lucy frowned. No messages or anything from Levy. The blonde would not worry but she would ask the blue-haired girl what kept her from getting in touch with her. It had become something of a routine between the two of them, keeping each other on top of what the other was doing and knowing roughly when each other's shifts were finished and the like. So, naturally, Lucy thought it odd that her roommate had not at least sent a text.

She must be busy, Lucy thought, as she slipped her phone back into her jeans' pocket and headed to the back where her car was parked. It was not a nice car but it did the job, Lucy smiled when her old beater of a car came into view. The forest green, four door used automobile had been a godsend when the blonde had been able to afford to purchase the thing a few years ago. Being able to get to and from work without depending on the always-forty-minutes-late public transit to be late was a life saver.

Hopping into the car, she started it up and decided it was high time she picked up her son from his after school program.

Yes, Lucy Heartfillia had become a single mother of one. Aiden Heartfillia was a bright, smiley young boy of five years old. He could count to twenty already and read a few bedtime stories to some extent. Between Lucy and Levy, the boy was destined to be a reader before any of his peers. The boy had been overjoyed to finally learn he was able to attend kindergarten, lining up his pencils and picking out his first outfit when the school year began a few months ago. Aiden had naturally fallen into routine of school and learning so well that it even surprised Lucy, her motherly heart beaming at her son's progress.

Because without his father in the picture, she would always worry over Aiden more than she should.

Of course, with Lucy and Levy both there to dote on him, Aiden grew up a sweet child, helping them out also, whenever he could manage. Lucy smiled thinking of all the times Levy allowed him to help her make meals; the young boy pulling his foot stool around in order to properly see over the counter top in order to stir or mix whatever it was aunt Levy needed done.

Pulling up to the after school care she had him enrolled in, Lucy instantly spotted her son in the distance. Although he seemed to be nothing like him, Aiden had inherited his father's head of hair: a light, delicate salmon pink.

It had been some time now that Lucy no longer felt her heart clench at the sight of her own son. Aiden's smile was very much his father's as well; cheeks pulled tight and pearly whites beaming from one end to the next. But, fortunately for Lucy, Aiden had at least inherited her warm brown eyes. But his demeanor, Lucy could never quite pin point. The boy was polite and considerate to a fault, nothing like his father who, although had been as sweet as could be with her some times, was not exactly the most gentle person Lucy knew.

Ultimately, Aiden reminded her of her mother. Although the woman had died early on in Lucy's life, she had left a heavy impact on the blonde. Distant memories of a sweet, adoring young woman who told her fairy tales before bed would float around her head as she did the very same thing with her own son years later.

Lucy shook her head, ridding herself of such thoughts as she hopped out of her car and raised her hand to wave, "Aiden!"

The boy stopped everything he was doing, his head popping up at the sound of his name. As soon as his eyes met his mother's, the pink haired boy hopped up and ran over, a smile crawling across his face, "Mommy!"

Lucy laughed as the boy collided into her legs, wrapping his tiny arms around her and squeezing tight, "Did you have a good day?"

She patted his head, untangling some small knots in his mop of hair before he looked up, "Yeah! I was just playing with Billy in the sandbox, do you wanna see what I made?"

The blonde nodded and was immediately tugged towards said sand box, his grimy hands wrapped around her wrist, "See, see!"

Lucy glanced down at what her son and his friend had conjured up. She was actually quite impressed, not knowing what she was expecting, as she stared at the lump of sand that looked like it even had a mote and a second floor. A few sticks stuck out at odd places which the blonde assumed were flags, "Wow, great job you two!"

Aiden looked up and beamed once more, exceedingly proud from his mother's appreciation, "Thanks!"

And with that, Lucy held her son's hand and gave it a squeeze, "We should get going though, hun, where's Ms. Strauss?"

"I think she's over by the swings pushing Sarah," Aiden responded, sending her hand a squeeze as they said their goodbyes to Billy and made their way to Ms. Stauss, the woman who practically single-handedly ran this after school program.

Said woman was standing just over by the older building that acted as a hangout for several students who attended the school just across the street. Parents were only required to sign up and pay a reasonable fee each month and their child or children could head over to this sanctuary until their parents arrived later on in the evening to pick them up. This place had rescued her and Levy, both of whom were unable to get time off in order to pick Aiden up immediately once school let out. Luckily, Lucy usually found herself free enough to pick him up after only an hour or so afterwards.

"Oh Lucy, glad you see you," Ms. Strauss smiled when she noticed Lucy and Aiden approaching, "I hope you're well?"

"I have been, thank you Ms. Strauss," Lucy returned the woman's warm smile.

"Mira's fine, I told you," Ms. Strauss chuckled before bending down to Aiden's level, "Why don't you go grab your things for your mother, mister?"

Aiden nodded before letting go of his mother's hand and racing off inside to gather his things. Mirajane stood, smiling at Lucy again, "He's such a sweet child."

Lucy blushed but nodded, "Yes, I honestly wouldn't know what to do with him if he wasn't so agreeable."

Mira smiled understandingly, having slowly picked up bits and pieces of Lucy's story throughout the few months the two women had known each other, "You do remember our plans this Thursday night, right? I expect the both of you at my place, 7 sharp."

Lucy gulped but forced out a laugh all the same, remembering how quickly Mira's moods could take a turn should anyone ever go against her wishes, "Of course I remember. Are you sure I don't need to bring anything though? I feel bad bringing nothing to dinner."

Mira shook her head with a frown, "I told you dear, there's no need. I love to cook so there is no trouble at all. Just make sure you and Aiden arrive on time and all is well."

Lucy smiled and thanked her just in time for Aiden to return with his backpack and jacket in tow, "Mommy, I'm ready!"

Mira laughed, "Okay, I guess I'll see you two tomorrow then! Drive safe!"

The blonde thanked her and grabbed her son's hand before crossing the street back to her car. As soon as they shut their car doors and Aiden buckled his seat belt, the boy instantly plunged into a detailed report of his day at school, "Oh and then, Mom! You should've seen it! Michael got glue stuck all over his hands and kept getting stuff stuck on him! It was so funny,"

Lucy had to chuckle at the cute laughter Aiden let out at the memory, "Oh no, was everything okay?"

Calming down, Aiden nodded, catching his mother's eye in the rear view mirror from the back seat, "Yea, Mrs. Walker wasn't happy though."

"I'm not surprised," Lucy shook her head, pulling into their parking lot, "that must've been a huge mess, huh?"

"Mhmm!"

Before Lucy even had the car in park, Aiden was already hopping out the car, "Aiden! What have I told you about taking off your seat belt while the car is still moving!"

Lucy sighed, knowing her son was no longer listening, watching as hopped up the stairs of their apartment complex and punching in the front door combination all of the inhabitants knew, before running inside. She was going to have to remind him about running the halls, too. The blonde grabbed her purse and locked the car up behind her, following Aiden into the apartment. Aiden was right where she knew he would be, standing impatiently outside their door, she chuckled to herself; he didn't exactly have a key of his own yet, "What have I said about running through the halls, Aid? Our neighbors are gonna complain again if you keep it up."

Aiden didn't look all that sorry. It was only then that she noticed his little dance and tightly squeezed legs, "Sorry but hurry mom, I really gotta go!"

Lucy laughed at that and leaned over her son, unlocking the door and kicking it open just in time for Aiden to run in, tossing his backpack and coat off before rushing towards the bathroom and slamming the door shut. No matter how mature and agreeable he appeared to be, he would always be her baby boy, Lucy thought with a smile as she grabbed his things and hung up his coat properly. Sighing, Lucy decided it was time to put together something for dinner. She still had yet to hear from Levy but assumed that if the girl was late, she would worry about her own dinner.

However, as Lucy made her way into the kitchen, she felt her phone in her back pocket begin to vibrate. The blonde wrestled it out and frowned when she saw it was a phone call from an unknown number, "Hello?" she answered cautiously.

"Hello, is this Lucy Heartfillia?" came a female voice.

"Uhh, yes, this is her."

"I wish I was calling under better circumstances, but we have you down as Ms. Levy McGarden's emergency contact," the female voice replied.

Lucy felt herself stiffened at that, "Yes, I am. Is this an emergency?"

"Well, yes and no," she paused, "I'm a nurse here at Central Hospital. She is currently stable and taken care of, but Ms. Levy McGarden was brought early this morning. I know this is all sudden, but we would much prefer—"

Lucy felt her world turn as she grabbed the countertop, feeling her legs growing weak. What happened to her friend? She was stable now but what on earth had her being brought to the hospital? Lucy could hardly stomach imagining what the petite girl would look like being pushed through the emergency room doors on a gurney.

"Ms. Heartfillia?"

"Ah, yes, sorry?"

There was a pause on the other end, "I know this is a lot to take in but we would much rather prefer talking to you in person if you are able. I'll be here the remainder of the evening so just mention your name at the front desk and they'll know where to send you."

"Uhh, yes, I have my son with me—"

"He can come as well if that's the case," the nurse replied, "I can keep him entertained while you and the doctor discuss Ms. McGarden's status."

Lucy nodded, "Okay, we'll be over shortly then, thank you."

"Thank you and I'm so sorry," then the line went dead just as Aiden came around the corner.

"Who was that, mommy?"

Lucy paused, thinking over whether or not to tell him the truth, but decided keeping this from him would probably only bite her in the butt soon enough, "That was the hospital. aunty Levy is not feeling good so she's been taken to the hospital."

Aiden's eyes widened, knowing that hospital meant it must be serious, "Is she okay? What happened to aunty?"

"Well, the nurse asked me to come and see her so the doctor can tell me," Lucy shrugged, "Do you wanna come with me?"

A mop of pink hair nodded vigorously before Aiden skirted around her to the front again, grabbing his shoes and jacket once more, "Yea, let's go!"

Despite her own worries, seeing Aiden frantically getting ready and worrying over his beloved aunty brought a small smile to her face, "Yea, let's go."

* * *

The two of them quickly entered the front doors, spotting the information desk almost instantly. Lucy grabbed Aiden's hand before they made their way, "Hello, I received a phone call from a nurse, my name is Lucy Heartfillia. I'm here to see Levy McGarden," the blonde stated as she approached the desk.

The secretary glanced up at Lucy in acknowledgement before turning back to a few files on her desk, "McGarden...McGarden...yes, right here. She'll be on the seventh floor, room 708. Doctor Richards is up there already waiting for you."

"Thank you," Lucy responded before tugging the pink haired boy along with her as they searched for an elevator. Aiden remained quiet, looking around and observing the goings on of the hospital. He rarely visited, fortunately enough, so Lucy was sure he was taking it all in.

"Is aunty gonna be okay?"

His voice was barely above a whisper but Lucy heard it all the same, she felt for than saw his true feelings. Giving his hand a gentle squeeze for comfort, she smiled down at him, "I'm sure she'll be perfectly fine. She'll be back home with us in no time."

Although Aiden returned her smile and nodded back, Lucy could tell he wasn't completely convinced; neither was she for that matter. Until she saw that happened to her dear friend, she would continue to worry. What on earth could have happened?

It wasn't long before the two of them found Levy's room. Aiden headed in first, pushing the door to her room open and holding it open for Lucy to enter behind him. The two noticed a nurse with a clipboard standing near Levy's hospital bed first, writing down numbers and checking monitors routinely.

Upon their entrance, the nurse looked up, "Oh, are you Ms. Heartfillia by any chance?"

The blonde nodded, "Yes, I'm Lucy."

The nurse nodded and walked towards the two of them, " I'll go run and grab the doctor then. She's still sound asleep but you can wait here until we return."

Lucy nodded and watched the nurse leave. Aiden squeezed his mother's hand, grabbing her attention. Glancing back towards her son, she noticed his eyes were glued to the blue haired girl lying silently on her hospital bed, sleeping contently as if nothing was wrong. But Lucy quickly ruled that thought out when she noticed the excessive amount of bandages wrapped around Levy's neck, how frail the girl looked as an IV needle stuck out from her arm and breathing tubes were hooked up to her nose. Lucy felt tears prick her eyes immediately at the sight; something terrible happened to her best friend.

She heard a sniffle. Lucy quickly looked dragged her eyes away from Levy and down to her son who was starting to tear up. Kneeling down, Lucy pulled Aiden into a hug, "What's wrong, honey?"

Sniffling, he answered, "Aunty Levy...she..."

Lucy squeezed the little boy tighter against herself, feeling a few tears dampen the skin of her shoulder, "Hey now, don't you worry," she replied, patting the boy's back comfortingly, "Aunty Levy's a strong lady. This is nothing."

"You think so?" Aiden tugged away enough to look into his mother's eyes, rubbing his hand under his nose for good measure.

"I know so."

Aiden took a moment to search his mother's eyes for any lies but eventually found none. Nodding, he tried his best to smile, "Okay."

Just then, the nurse reentered the hospital room, a doctor in tow. Lucy stood back up as the doctor came to stand before her, "Ms. Heartfillia? I'm Dr. Richards, nice to meet you." The two shook hands as the group made their way to the side of Levy's bed, "I'm glad you could make it. Basically in short, Ms. McGarden here arrived this morning via ambulance with severe bruises and cuts on most of her body. We've done our best to patch her up but the blood loss was still great enough to require a blood transfusion."

Lucy's eyes widened, "What caused all of this?"

The doctor sighed, "We have no idea. Our best guess is an animal attack with the evidence we have from her cuts. The largest, however, was on her neck. It looked like whatever it was had..." he glanced down and noted Aiden for the first time since he arrived, "Jane, do you mind?"

The nurse, supposedly Jane, nodded in understanding and went to grab Aiden's hand, "Hey hun, how about we take a quick walk and let your mother and the doctor talk a bit, okay?"

Aiden looked up at his mother for the okay and, with a nod from Lucy, he took the nurse's hand the two of them made their way out of the room, "Doctor, what happened to Levy really?"

The doctor sighed, "Believe me, ma'am, my team tried their best to put together what could've caused this but nothing really adds up. The cuts and bruises along her body seem very much human in nature. But her neck..."

"What about her neck?" Lucy glanced back down towards the bandages wrapped around her poor friend's neck.

"It was hard to tell at first, her neck was quite mangled as it was," Dr. Richards continued, "but after cleaning her up and stabilizing her enough, it seems as if they were bite marks. But they were much more animalistic than any human ever could accomplish."

Lucy felt her blood run cold. Memories of an older blonde man mangled and torn apart, strewn across her old family home's kitchen linoleum flashed across her face. Her father's dead eyes staring back at her from his disembodied head...

"Ms. Heartfillia?"

Lucy blinked back to reality, "A bite you say?"

The doctor took a deep breath and shrugs, "Like we said, our team has done its best to figure out the culprit but nothing is clear. All we know is that, yes, beyond a doubt, the wounds on her neck look very much like an animal attack. But that being said, we are investigating the source and Ms. McGarden here will make a full recovery. She responded well to the blood transfusion and should be waking up soon enough."

Lucy nodded, still recovering from long lost memories she had thought she had let go of, "Thank you, doctor."

He nodded, sending the blonde a sympathetic smile, "It's no trouble at all, I'll leave you then and your son will be back shortly. I just didn't think you'd want him listening in on this is all."

"No, I understand," Lucy returned the smile and said her goodbyes as the doctor left the room.

Her eyes immediately returned to her sleeping friend. Lucy reached for Levy's hand, taking it into hers and rubbed her thumb delicately over her knuckles. Lucy felt her blood run cold at the idea of what could have happened to Levy. She must have been absolutely terrified and Lucy had gone on with her day as if nothing was wrong. Her heart broke for her.

But remembering the doctor's words, Lucy had to wonder what the cause of all of this. Bite marks on her neck, Lucy thought. It all sounded eerily familiar and she hated it. It had been nearly five years since she and Natsu had said their goodbyes and neither of them had attempted to contact the other; or at least, Lucy knows she had never tried. She had no idea where the pink haired boy could possibly be but if her fears were confirmed, she wondered if he was closer than she originally thought. But that begged the question:

Was Natsu at fault or was there something else that went bump in the night?

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm baaaaaaaack! And still too lazy to edit my own work...I'm the worst. I'm sorry this took me sometime to write but, athough I had the majority of it planned out, the time and energy never came for me to actually write it out. In the next couple months I'll be moving back to Canada so things are picking up and I'd much rather spend my time with people here than write so updates might be sloooooow. But I wanted to at least get this first chapter up to set the scene for Enigma 2: Accord! :D

Buckle your seat belts, kids...this is gonna be a bumpy ride!


	2. Old Faces

Lucy hung up her cell phone with a sigh after yet another failure, skimming through her contacts once more in search of someone who was able to babysit Aiden while she went off to work that evening. With Levy still recovering in the hospital for the past couple of days now, Lucy was right out of luck when it came to weekend shifts at the coffee shop. She thought of calling Wendy to see if she would be willing to take over her shift for her, but realizing that it was a Saturday evening, Lucy decided it was best not to steal away the cute teenager's weekend freedom. The blonde still had a few hours to find someone as well, but no one was saying yes at this last minute. Why was it that Lucy had left this until the very last minute?

Her fingers continued to scroll and stopped as Mira's name popped up. Lucy shook her head no. She couldn't ask her for help when the woman watched Aiden every weekday already as it was. But upon seeing the white haired woman's name, Lucy's thoughts slowly went back to the other night when Mirajane had kindly accepted the two of them into her home for dinner.

* * *

" _Does Ms. Strauss have any kids?"_

 _Lucy chuckled, looking down to her son who gripped her hand as they made their way up the walkway to Mirajane's house. His hair was somewhat tamed with lots of water and a comb but his stubborn cow lick that sat atop the back of his head still refused to stay flat, a few strands sticking this way and that, making his entire look kind of ridiculous, "I don't think so, but even if she does, they'll be eating dinner at the table too so you can't get out of this, mister."_

 _Aiden frowned, stuffing his free hand into his pocket in silent protest at being forced to this dinner with a lady that was practically his teacher. Lucy fought back a chuckle. Aiden never complained that often so seeing the boy pouting almost had the blonde laughing. The pink haired boy had fought her tooth and nail, hating the idea of getting dressed up._

 _But her smile quickly vanished as she remembered that it had been since they found out about Levy that Aiden had been on edge and a little more difficult than normal. The boy was sensitive so naturally knowing his aunty was still cooped up at the hospital recovering slowly left the boy somewhat frazzled his patience thin and his smile less bright._

 _She squeezed his hand to grab his attention, "Hey, you have school tomorrow so we won't be kept long. I hear Mira even made your favorite too!"_

 _Aiden's face brightened slightly, "Sloppy Joe's?"_

 _Lucy frowned, "Wait, that's your favorite?" he nodded vigorously, "Since when?"_

" _Since like forever mommy!"_

" _Yea right, last I remember you loved spaghetti? What changed?"_

" _Spaghetti's alright but sloppy Joe's mom," Aiden replied in all seriousness, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "they're sloppy Joe's!"_

 _Lucy sighed and shook her head, "Whatever kid, just enjoy the meal Mira made for us and don't make a fuss, alright? Promise?"_

" _Will you make me sloppy Joe's if I do?"_

 _Oh he was a clever one, Lucy thought, "Yea yea, whatever."_

" _Yes!" he cried with a little fist pump._

 _And just as he had promised, Aiden was the perfect child for the rest of the evening. The night was pleasant and Mira politely kept the conversation going as best she could. But Lucy was anything but a pleasant conversationalist at the moment. Just as Aiden worried, Lucy was distracted as well over Levy and her recovery. The two of them had practically lived at the hospital during visitor's hours the past day or two. But Mirajane being ever so sensitive, quickly picked up the changes in her blonde friend._

" _Is everything alright, Lucy?"_

 _The blonde blinked and looked up to see Mira's worried glance, "Everything's alright, why do you ask?"_

" _Well you seem to be worrying over something, dear," The white haired woman explained further._

 _Lucy sighed, seeing no point in keeping it a secret, "It's my best friend," she began, "she was recently admitted to the hospital."_

" _Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," Mira's eyes widened in sympathy, "will she be alright?"_

" _Doctors say she will be fine but it still has me worried," Lucy tried to smile back but it failed to reach her eyes._

 _Aiden frowned, keeping to himself and swirling the last of his spaghetti with his fork. Lucy looked over and patted the top of his head, ruffling his hair that had long ago lost its matted down form. Mira only nodded in understanding, "I'm sorry to hear that, Lucy. I hope she recovers quickly,"_

" _Thank you," Lucy smiled genuinely, "for everthing."_

" _Oh it's my pleasure, Lucy," Mirajane returned her own warm smile, "although it was some years ago, I went through my own experience quite similar to yours except it was my younger sister, so if you ever need to talk about it, I'm always willing to lend a listening ear," and before Lucy could reply, the older woman stood up, grabbing hers and Lucy's plates, "well, it's getting late, how about you two head back home and I handle the clean up. Aiden looks like he's about to fall asleep."_

* * *

Shortly after that, Lucy was tucking Aiden into bed and packing his lunch for school the next day. She was fortunate Mirajane understood her; with the life the blonde had led up until this point, Lucy was not always an easy individual to deal with. It had been a few years in the making, but Lucy had toughened up. She had to once she found out about Aiden. The shock quickly wore off and the blonde and rose to the occasion, refusing to allow herself to cripple under fear any longer. But that still did not mean she was quick to open up to others; it took only a few people to finally help her break down her walls and having them in her life brightened it immensely.

Skipping over Mirajane's phone number, figuring she could use her as a last resort, Lucy skimmed through the remaining numbers she had programmed into her cell phone.

"…breaking news, but this just in," came the sound of the TV Aiden was currently watching. A news reporter with a stern face interrupted her son's cartoon marathon and he was not pleased, telling by the frown he gave the television screen, "reports of growing numbers of animal attacks in the area begins worrying local authorities as well as citizens as yet another young woman was admitted to Central Hospital earlier this morning—" that had Lucy's attention as she lowered her cell phone and watched the news caster continue with the story, "Although officials say they cannot identify the woman as of yet due to the severity of her injuries, they can confirm the similarities between this attack and the others that have been occurring recently. Nothing is for sure, but officials warn citizens to stay safe. Travel in groups, don't stay out late, and avoid unpopulated areas until more can be confirmed. We apologize for interrupting your regularly scheduled program."

And with that, the television screen quickly returned to a happy looking cartoon and life continued on as it was. But for both Lucy and Aiden, a sudden fear rippled the room. Was this similar to Levy's attack? If so, then it wasn't an isolated event? This was growing to be a common occurrence?

"Mommy, is that what happened to aunty?" Aiden's voice echoed her own questions.

Lucy blinked, dragging her eyes away from the TV to her son who sat too close to the screen, "Hey Aid, don't sit so close to the screen okay? It'll make you go blind."

With that, Lucy went back to skimming through her phone to find a babysitter. It wasn't like she wanted to ignore her son's inquiry, but she felt it was best to keep him in the dark as much as possible; no point in making him worry unnecessarily. But this was all getting to be more than she bargained for. These animal attacks were an actual reoccurring thing. What did it all mean? Memories of a time when vampires were very much a daily problem for her came rushing back and Lucy wanted to deny it all. The blonde sighed, not wanting to revisit memory lane at the moment though.

That was when her finger scrolled back to Erza Knightwalker in her phone contacts. Why had she not thought of the red head friend of hers from the start? Well, friend was stretching it. Acquaintance was more preferable. The two had met through Levy only recently, who had a class with the woman back in university. Erza Knightwalker was an interesting woman; mostly passion and awkwardness rolled up in a living, breathing goddess of beauty. Lucy had been intimidated by the force that was Erza, but the woman kept reappearing in her life enough times that eventually the two women began talking and became friends. She didn't see her often but she wondered if calling in a favor to watch Aiden was out of the question, she thought as she clicked Erza's name and listened to the phone ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey Erza," Lucy answered, "It's me, Lucy."

"Oh hello Lucy, how are you?"

"I'm alright," Lucy answered. The two ladies exchanged pleasantries until Lucy finally reached her purpose of the phone call, "I was actually calling to see if you were free and ask you a huge favor?"

"I'm free this evening mostly, what is it you need?"

Lucy decided it was best to just be blunt and ask directly, "Well, my roommate is busy and she usually watches my son for me, but this evening I have to work and can't find a last minute baby sitter. Would you mind watching him for a few hours by any chance? I'd owe you big time."

There was a pause on the other end and Lucy held her breath, "I'm not that great with children…"

"Oh no need to worry about that," Lucy replied quickly, "Aiden's a great kid. He'll keep out of your hair and is super low maintenance. Just turn on the TV and he'll be glued to it until I'm off work."

Erza took a breath and pondered over that before finally answering, "Sure why not. I'll watch him for you, when will you bring him over and when are you off?"

"Thank you so much Erza, you're a life saver!" Lucy beamed, "I can bring him over now if that works, and I only work a short shift, 4 hours tops."

After giving directions to Erza's residence, Lucy hung up and quickly packed a small backpack of things for Aiden to bring over to the red head's house, "Aiden, quick, I found you a babysitter. Get your shoes on, we're outta here!"

Aiden moaned and whined over wanting watching the last few minutes of his show but eventually listened before his mother turned feral. If Aiden could pride himself on anything it was his survival instincts; his mother had a short temper and pushing her even a little could mean potential World War Three for the small child. So begrudgingly, he put his shoes on and followed his mother out the door to this new babysitter of his.

Maybe she had a TV, he thought hopefully.

* * *

"Thanks again so much for watching him, I owe you big time!"

"It's no trouble at all," Erza smiled, glancing down at Aiden who was scanning the house behind him already, "although I wish I were better with kids then I am."

Lucy shook her head, "No no, like I said, if there's a TV he'll be fine. He's a good kid and if he causes you any trouble at all, let me know."

"Yes, he can have the one in the living room to himself," Erza nodded. And with that, Aiden wasted no time in saying his goodbyes and hightailing it to wherever this living room was, turning the TV on as soon as he arrived.

Lucy shook her head in exasperation, "Sorry about him. I'll be off in four hours or so and be straight back to pick him up."

"I understand. Be careful though, things have been getting dangerous lately."

The blonde swallowed, thinking about to the breaking news story earlier that evening, "Uhh, yes of course."

Erza's face suddenly became rather serious, "I'm serious. Be careful, Lucy."

Lucy gulped and nodded, feeling the tension between them rising greatly, "I will, promise."

And with that, she called out another goodbye to Aiden before leaving for work without another word.

* * *

"Hey Lucy, you can leave whenever you want, you know?"

The blonde glanced up at the sound of name to see Romeo walking towards her from the staff room, "What's that, Romeo?"

The younger boy shrugged, "Slow night tonight, so you might as well take off. I won't tell the boss."

Lucy had to admit, the night had been quite the slow one with not many customers needed a nightly caffeinated beverage that evening, "Are you sure?"

The young boy smiled, "It's no skin off my back, go now while there's still a little bit of sunlight. You've heard about all those attacks, right?"

She smiled at his concern, "Yes, I have. I'll be careful. But only if you're sure?" With another nod of encouragement from Romeo, Lucy pulled off her apron and grabbed her purse, "Okay then, I'll see you later. Call me if you need me, alright?"

"See ya, Lucy," Romeo waved her bye.

Soon enough, Lucy was back outside under the starry night sky. Glancing at her phone and finding no messages, the blonde made her way to her car.

"Long time no see, Lucy."

Lucy froze, feeling the hairs on the back of her head stand on end at the sound of that voice. That familiar, deep voice. The blonde slowly turned around, coming face to face with none other than: "Gray?"

The dark haired man smirked and spread out his arms as if showing off the goods, "The one and only, here in the flesh. It's been awhile."

Lucy felt as if she had been reeled back in time. It had been five years and yet Gray looked exactly the same, nothing had changed; she wondered if this was his immortality taking affect. His knowing eyes and cocky smile still sent goosebumps across her skin just as it had all those years ago, "What….why?"

Gray's smile faded away as he tilted his had to take her all in, "Well, I thought it would be obvious to you?"

The blonde's eyes narrowed as she wondered why Gray would show himself to her now of all times. The last time she had seen him was when he had arrived to put a stop to Natsu and his violent ways. Gray had been forced to arrive on the scene to put a stop to Natsu's killing spree which had been garnering a lot of unwanted attention to their race, if she remembered correctly.

Wait, that must be it, "The attacks…"

Gray smirked, realizing she figured it out, "Bingo."

"So they are vampires then," Lucy's eyes widened, "It was a vampire behind all of this."

"Smarter than I give you credit for," He chuckled, "But not was. Is a vampire. There've been some troubles stirring up and I'm just here to take care of it. Obviously when this shit makes the news, it's kinda too late. But don't you worry your pretty little face, I'll deal with it before something happens to you, precious."

Lucy cringed, "Whatever. Just what business do you have with me then? Shouldn't you be out taking care of the problem then?"

"Oh ho ho, just as sassy as I remember you being. But it seems you got a bit of a back bone now? Settle the fuck down, just heard you were in the neighbourhood and popped by for a quick hello to an old friend, that so bad?"

Lucy's eyes narrowed, not believing a word that came from his mouth, "What do you want, Gray?"

Gray's eyes narrowed back, feeling his temper slightly ride at her tone, "You piss me off, you know that? Uptight bitch. I'm here because, as I was taking my evening stroll sniffing out fucking murderous vampires, who's scent would I pick up instead? Have a guess?"

"Me?"

"Close," Gray smirked, "No, it wasn't you at first. It was that old ex-fuck boy of yours."

Lucy held back a gasp but her eyes still widened, "Natsu's? But how? Is he here?"

"See, that's what I thought too," Gray's head tilted back, a look of knowing crossing his face, "but when I tracked down the scent, guess who I found instead? Your pretty little blonde head."

"Wait, what? Me?" Gray remained silent, "Gray look, I don't know what you're talking about but I haven't seen him in a while so how could I possibly smell like him?"

"Beats me," Gray shrugged, "but something about you has changed and I ain't just talking about your new bitchy personality. I'm talking physically. Natsu's been MIA so seems kinda suspicious don't you think?"

Lucy thought about how any of this could be possible when the sudden image of a small boy with pink hair and brown eyes popped into her mind. She had to wonder. Could that have been what Gray was noticing? Although Aiden had never met Natsu before, she wondered if there was some genetic manifestation or something that justified why Gray was smelling Natsu on her. Maybe what he was actually smelling was Aiden on her by some freak chance of nature.

But Lucy could not tell Gray about Aiden. Although he was a familiar face from an another world, she guessed that only bad things would come of it if she told him about Natsu's son. It was best to keep her mouth shut and continue to play dumb at this point for the time being, "I don't know what you're talking about Gray, but like I said, I haven't seen or heard from Natsu is a while either."

Gray stared her down for a few moments, most likely deep in thought. Lucy felt goosebumps cover her skin once more from his penetrating stare. It was almost as if he knew she was keeping something from him, "Whatever, just keep out of my way, alright? If you thought Natsu was bad, you haven't met this guy."

Lucy shivered at the thought but couldn't help but feel slightly relieved that Gray seemed to be dropping the subject for now, "I don't plan on running into him anytime soon, thanks."

Gray's smile returned to his lips, "Like I said, just don't go and get yourself killed, alright? I can think of one pathetic guy off the top of my head that'd miss you."

And just as he came, he left just the same without another word. Lucy felt the entire thing quite surreal, a blast from the past. But blinking her eyes and shaking away any residual flashbacks, Lucy grabbed her keys and got in her car before any other blasts from the pasts could show up.

* * *

 **A/N:** Okay so wow, the amount of positive feedback I received from the first chapter blew me away! I'm blushing mad, kids. Wow. Just wow. I'm so thankful to everyone who followed, favourited, and reviewed. R&R!

(Also, I think I've decided to always update once a week at this time. It's Wednesday here in my time zone (Japan) so yea...lol)


	3. Identity

"Careful, careful, careful," Lucy cautioned her blue haired friend as they stepped over pairs of shoes scattered around the foyer, finally raising her voice to shout out: "I told Aiden to organize the shoe area before we left!"

"Lucy, I'm fine! Quit your worrying," Levy sighed from her side, currently being carried into their apartment by the huffing blonde, "I'm not that fragile."

"Sorry, it's just..." Lucy sighed, letting go of Levy finally as she struggled to get out of her grasp to take off her shoes, "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

Levy glanced back at her friend once to send her a tired smile before returning the shoe removing task at hand, "I'll be fine, Lucy, don't worry."

Lucy begged to differ but also didn't want to cause yet another argument. Even though the doctors and Levy claimed she was perfectly fine to return home, seeing her neck still covered in bandages that required changing a couple times a day and the bruises that ran up her arms, it was hard to agree.

"Where's Aiden at by the way?"

Levy's voice pulled Lucy out of her worries, "Aiden? Oh, he went off to Billy's house today. I have to head to work tonight so thought I'd give you the night off to relax. I'll grab him on my way back."

"Or are you just doing that thing where you get all overly worried about me again?" Levy huffed, finally making her way to the couch where she attempted to delicately plop down, "Aiden's not even near a hand full as you think, it'd be him taking care of me if he had his way."

The two roommates shared a giggle at the image of mothering Aiden rushing around the house at his aunt's bidding, before Lucy sighed, "True. Sorry but I'm going to worry whether you like it or not. I mean, with the increase in attacks and all. Who knows what could've happened to you even; you're lucky to be alive. Are you sure you don't remember what it was that did this to you?"

It was Levy's turn to sigh sadly, "Like I told the doctors and police, it was all just a blur to me thinking back. Only thing I remember is it felt very much human. Beyond that, I don't know. I don't really want to talk about it anymore, either."

Lucy's heart went out to the girl but the blonde's curiosity and desire to get to the bottom of this was outweighing her sympathy at the moment, unfortunately. Lucy remembered her conversation with Gray the other night, only confirming her original fears of the return of vampires. Although the vampire had confirmed the attacks that still was not hard enough evidence for Levy; though the blonde was starting to feel a little naive at the notion. So when Lucy witnessed the doctor's changing Levy's bandages around her neck when they were teaching her how to do it at home, the blonde held no more doubt as to what, or rather who, was the cause of Levy's hospitalization. Seeing the bite marks marring her friend's skin had hit her much harder than she thought it would.

"Well, if you're alright," Lucy began, deciding to change the subject, "I'll head to work pretty quickly then. If you need anything—"

"I'll call you, I got it," Levy smiled exasperatedly at her overly-worrying friend, "Don't worry Lucy, I won't fall over and die while you're gone."

"If you're sure..."

Levy chuckled, "Yes, now get to work before you're late."

Lucy finally returned her smile, admitting that even though Levy looked worse for wear, it was nice having her back home. Aiden was also just as excited to have her back home as his mother was so naturally he was a bit peeved to hear he wouldn't be home when aunty returned. It just hadn't been the same without her, "Okay, I'll be home in time to make some dinner then after I grab Aiden."

"Works for me," Levy nodded, reaching for the remote to the television, "I seriously missed that kid."

Lucy smiled warmly, "He missed his aunty more, I'm sure. Anyways, I'm off to work. Call if you need anything!" And with that, the blonde was on her way out the door with a wave to Levy and the distant sound of weekend morning talk shows playing in the background.

* * *

"Hurry mommy, come on!"

Lucy outright laughed at the sight of her son pushing her along towards their car. The pink haired boy was more than a little anxious to return home and see Levy, "I'm going, I'm going Aid, no need to push."

"Sorry but just," Aiden pouted slightly, "I wanna get home fast."

"And we will, don't worry," Lucy patted the boy's head before grabbing her keys from her purse. It took a second to rummage through her oversized purse one-handed, the other occupied with a few odd grocery bags.

"Mama?"

"What Aiden?" Lucy huffed, coming off slightly annoyed as she continued to grab for her keys.

"Who's that?"

Lucy looked down at her son who was still clinging to her legs and noticed his arm was pointed off in some direction. Following his tiny arm, the blonde's eyes widened and she held back a shocked gasp.

It was his piercing red eyes that shook her to the core first. The shadowy, conspicuous figure a few hundred or so meters off from the pair was standing there, almost staring back at them if Lucy was not mistaken. A chill ran down her spine; the hunt for her car keys suddenly taking more priority than before, "Aiden, stay close," she whispered as she placed the grocery bags onto the ground in order to use both hands to find her keys.

Aiden couldn't tear his eyes off of the dark figure, his whimpers giving away that he was slightly terrified. Some instinct was telling him this man was bad news and that his mother and he were in more danger than they thought, "Mommy," he moaned out.

"Aiden shhhh," Lucy hissed, feeling her temper flaring just as her fear was, her hands finally grabbing onto her keys, "Yes, okay, Aiden get in the ca—"

But it was much too late.

Unfortunately, Lucy blinked and suddenly the figure was standing only a few feet away, his red eyes staring her down intimidating the two of them, "You," the stranger grunted out.

The blonde instinctively grabbed for Aiden and shoved him behind her, "What do you want?" Lucy had no idea where this dumb bravery of hers was coming from but her maternal instincts were on full despite her sweaty palms and rising heart beat, "Who are you?"

The shadowy figure refused to reply, instead taking a step forward which brought him into the light given off by the parking lot lamps. But what Lucy saw made her finally gasp out. His ruby eyes much more prevalent, a familiar shade of blood; his long mane of black hair and metal, so much metal seemed to reflect off his face, piercings perhaps. Either way, the entire package gave off a rather intimidating feel and Lucy wasn't about to stick around any longer to find out if his bite was as bad as his bark.

Grabbing for the car door handle, Lucy jammed the car key into it unlocking and opening it successfully. However, this seemed to set off the stranger as he finally decided it was time to close the distance between them. Lucy shrieked and grabbed Aiden almost violently, lifting his tiny body up from under the shoulder and practically tossing him into the car before slamming the door behind him. The blonde had no time to feel relieved when she felt his body slam against her, shoving her roughly against the door she had just closed. Lucy grunted in pain, her hands in between herself and the car lamely attempting to push herself off, but this only encouraged the monster to press up against her more, sliding his hands down her body to her waist, gripping her tightly against him. Lucy felt her skin shiver and her lungs burn as she tried to cry out for help alongside her son who had been screaming at her and slamming against the door trying to get out of the car.

He didn't seem to be making any further moves beyond pressing every inch of his body up against hers. That was until she felt his face press up against the back of her neck, rubbing his nose into her exposed skin above her collar and taking a deep breath. Lucy almost wondered if he was smelling her but was too scared to stop him. She did let out a gasp as she felt his tongue reach out and drag along her skin, though.

"You smell like him," the stranger finally spoke, his voice lower than she expected and much more gravelly.

Lucy whimpered and gave one last shove off the car but it was to no avail, it seemed no one was near enough to hear her cries either. It was then that she felt one of his hands slide down her side, grazing her breast and smoothing down her shirt, gradually making his way down to her hips. Lucy felt her gut clench as he reached the edge of her jeans before wasting no time and moving between her legs, palming her core and pushing into it with the palm of his hand. Lucy let out a protest and, feeling desperate at this point, lifted her right foot up and did her best to aim and slam it back down onto the man's foot, effectively shocking him enough to give her a chance to escape. Of course, she didn't expect to do any damage, but the sharp intake of breath coming from the monster sent a small sense of pride through her as she shoved off the car, pushing him back enough to twist out of his grasp.

Wasting no time, she took off in a sprint, praying to all of the gods that he would follow her and leave Aiden alone and in the car. Glancing back, she felt a wave of relief watching the monster begin his pursuit for her but that feeling of relief quickly washed away, replaced by pure adrenaline and the need to get away. For whatever reason this demon was after her, Lucy had no idea but it seemed to be in mad pursuit for her. Either way, the blonde was hell bent on getting this monster as far away from her son as she physically could before it had its way with her.

Fortunately for Lucy, that time would not come for just as she started to hear the man closing in on her, he was gone just as quickly. Lucy heard someone tumble in, pushing the monster aside and shoving them both into the ground somewhere behind her. Coming to a stop, the blonde twirled around to witness a new figure pushing the long black haired monster down into the dirt, "Get out of here, Lucy."

The blonde gasped, recognizing that voice at once in the dark, "Gray?" she shrieked, confused and frightened as she watched the two vampires wrestle each other only a few meters away from her.

"Get the—" Gray shouted but was cut off with an elbow to the face, "Get out of here!"

Lucy decided she needed to listen to Gray for once and get out of there fast. The blonde ran around the two, making her way back to Aiden as fast as she could. She barely reached the cement of the parking lot before she felt a small bundle crash into her. Looking down and feeling a pair of arms squeeze her hips into a dead lock grip, she saw the familiar tuff of pink hair before she heard his whimpering cries, "Aiden honey, are you okay?"

He pulled his face away from her stomach and looked up at his mother, face covered in excess amounts of tears and snot, he whimpered out, "I'm okay but what about you? What about that monster?"

Lucy patted his head before grabbing him up from underneath his shoulders, lifting him up into her arms before she started jogging back to the car, "Someone else saved me, but we gotta get out of here, sweetie."

Aiden didn't question her any further and gladly hopped into the car once more, buckling his seat belt as his mother peeled out of the parking lot as fast as her old beat up car could take them, hopefully safe at last.

* * *

It wasn't until she had Aiden nestled in bed with Levy that Lucy finally felt she could breathe again. The shock of having her and Aiden's life in danger brought back plenty of unwanted memories tumbling through her mind. Memories from a life time ago.

In the end, their narrow escape was only thanks to Gray so naturally the blonde found herself wondering about the outcome. Was Gray alright? She felt nothing affectionate for the vampire, their initial meeting years before had never set them on good terms. But after risking his life to get her and Aiden out of there, her heart felt guilty and worried over whether or not Gray escaped safely as well.

Stepping outside for a quick breath of fresh air to untangle her wandering thoughts, Lucy felt her eyes drawn up towards the clear night sky. There was always something about the glittery stars that lit up the black sky above her at night that calmed her soul no matter what the case. Tonight was no different. Taking a deep breath in and out, Lucy was about to return to her bedroom when she caught a glimpse of a hunched over man making his way down the street. Once he reached the light of a street lamp, Lucy finally recognized the gait of the man and gasped out before running to meet him half way, "Gray," she called out to catch his attention.

The dark haired man glanced up and Lucy could have sworn she noticed a small shine of relief hit his eyes before they glazed over, "He did a number on me, I'm fine though."

Lucy wanted to call him out on his lie, not convinced in the slightest at the amount of blood covering his bare chest, "Come inside and I can look at your wounds, it's the least I can do for you after saving our lives."

"You think that's wise, letting a vampire into your house?"

The blonde scoffed, "You either want my help or not," placing her hands on her hips, feeling her patience wear thin as her fatigue began to set in, "follow me."

Gray blinked, surprised at her no nonsense attitude before finding a small smirk crawl across his face as he followed the feisty blonde into her apartment complex. Watching her back as she quietly led him up the stairs, Gray reminisced their first reunion only a day or so ago. Finding the blonde brought on a sense of nostalgia and of loss; a reminder of another pink haired comrade he had lost track of as well. It had been years since Gray made contact with either of them, so naturally when he had picked up Natsu's scent and found her instead, he had assumed his friend had been close behind Lucy as he had been all those years ago. And as his luck would have it, Natsu had been nowhere in sight and the blonde had been just as saddened at his disappearance as Gray had been.

"Sit down here while I find the first aid kit," Lucy gestured towards a kitchen table chair and began shuffling through the cupboards until she found the white box of medicines and bandages.

Gray did as she said, for once listening to this odd human, "You do know vampires heal naturally on their own, don't you? I don't need your stupid human shit."

Lucy stopped what she was doing and glared over at the man, "You say that and yet here you are."

The man paused at that, feeling slightly under handed by that one, "I have my reasons," Gray scoffed.

Feeling satisfied she had finally convinced him to let her have a look at him, she toted the small first aid kit back to the kitchen table where she set it down and opened it up. Lucy quickly spotted the antiseptic and dabbed a bit of it onto a piece of gauze before pausing, glancing up at Gray's face, "This might hurt a bit."

"Seriously?" Gray scoffed, "You think some fuckin—aaah!"

Lucy fought back a smirk at his hiss, "You were saying?" She innocently asked, dabbing a small cut on his shoulder.

Gray remained silent, grunting only a few times when Lucy reached a particularly deep cut. Both of them remained quiet, deep in their own thoughts as Lucy finished checking him over. Even as she reached each cut, Lucy was already witnessing signs of his vampiric magic taking affect, sealing a few of his deeper wounds, "Okay, I'm all done."

The man grunted thanks, sitting back as Lucy closed up the kit and tossed the bloodied gauzes she used into the garbage bin, "So you going to tell me who the kid was?"

Lucy froze, teetering on her toes as she pushed the first aid kid back into one of the upper kitchen cabinets. Returning fully on her feet, Lucy glanced back at Gray to see him sending her a calculated gaze, "Who?"

She tried to play dumb but it was hopeless. It was impossible at this point to hide away the fact that she had a child, seeing as clearly Gray had spotted the boy at some point while rescuing the two of them. Sighing and returning to the table to sit across from Gray this time, she stared him down, "He's my son."

The words seemed to float about in the space between them, neither saying anything for a time before Gray huffed out a small laugh, "That explains a lot."

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows, "How so?"

Gray sighed, running a hand through his hair, "It explains why Gajeel's been running around like a crazy man and you stinking up the place."

"Gajeel?"

"The vampire who attacked you."

"Okay," Lucy pressed for more, "but what does my son have anything to do with these attacks and me stinking?"

Gray sighed again out of annoyance, "Just vampire shit you don't need to know about."

"Excuse me?" She felt her temper rise, "I feel I have every right to hear about this vampire shit if my son's in danger."

"When did you learn to talk back?" Gray smirked, sitting up and placing his hands upon the table, leaning intimidatingly towards Lucy, "Do you forget your place, human?"

Lucy was not about to be scared this time, stupidly standing up and pushing her face up close to Gray's, "I know my place and it's right here protecting my son. Now tell me, what does he have to do with anything?"

Gray shook his head, biting back a laugh at how haughty this girl was being right now. Although she had matured and changed over these past few years, Gray was beginning to see the spark in her that had drawn Natsu in, "Alright, fuck, don't get your panties in a twist. It doesn't really have anything to do with the kid and more with what he did to you."

Lucy wasn't expecting that, "What he did to me?"

He nodded, "Yea, when chicks have kids, their scent is somewhat altered and in the case of vampires, this is important."

"Important how?"

"Did Natsu ever explain what mating was to you before he took off?"

Lucy shook her head slowly, "Nothing much really."

Gray huffed, scratching his head in irritation, "Fuck him, seriously? What a numb nut," the blonde just stared blankly at the man before he sighed and continued, "Seriously, he leaves me to do everything. Okay, so there are a couple different ways to mate. One is the more traditional route with the blood exchange. The male drains his partner of basically most of her blood, yada yada yada, gives him hers and, voila, you got yourself a lifetime of togetherness."

Lucy felt her stomach slightly quiver at the notion of being brought to the brink of death just to mate with someone. She was starting to see why Natsu had always been so hesitant to speak on the subject, "What are the other types?"

"Another type is simply the scent marking kind. Fuck her and she'll stink like you. But it's only temporary, more for marking than mating," Gray smirked, "That's as far as Natsu's ever gotten with you. That is until that kid came in the picture."

"Aiden?"

"Aiden? That's his name?" Gray made a thoughtful noise before continuing, "Yea, getting a chick pregnant is another form of mating. Still not as powerful as the blood exchange, but definitely more cementing than a simple fuck. Picture it as a prelude to the full out blood exchange ritual. Getting a chick knocked up is like a partial mating ceremony. It gets the ball rolling. Procreation unites the souls to some extent, too, just as the blood exchange does. But it's the scent altering that's most important for right now."

Lucy frowned, barely following along as it was, "How so?"

"Well, it's what's got you in this pickle with Gajeel here," Gray leaned back smugly, crossing his arms over his nearly healed bare chest, "You see, to any passerby vampire that wouldn't know any better, you're basically walking around with Natsu's scent. It doesn't last as long as a blood exchange mating ritual does but it's still pretty potent for years after the fact. Even Aiden's scent reflects his birth father."

Lucy gawked, "I smell like Natsu? But I still don't get what that has to do with that vampire attacking me and Aiden though. Unless he and Gajeel aren't friends, that is," frowning, Lucy furrowed her brow, "And what about Levy and the other victims who were attacked, do they all smell like Natsu too?"

Gray laughed at that, "Levy's your roommate right? She's easy. She smells like you because of her proximity. The other victims…well, did you ever see detailed reports of who they were? What they looked like?

"No, I didn't," Lucy shook her head.

"All women, brown eyes, blonde hair," Gray replied, a smug grin on his face as he watched the blonde put two and two together, "Gajeel was after you alright and all because of your relation with Natsu. You see, Natsu's smell is an important one because, well, he's important."

"Important?" Lucy was having a hard time swallowing down the fact that every attack was technically her fault. Guilt hit her hard but she pressed forward, "Why?"

The dark haired man leaned forward finally, his smirk plastered to his face, "Natsu never told you who he really was, did he?"

The blonde frowned, "What are you talking about? Who Natsu is?"

"Of course he wouldn't," Gray shook his head in disappointment, "Damn, he kept you in the dark about a lot of things didn't he. Don't really blame him though, it's a messy situation he left behind."

"Gray, tell me," Lucy demanded.

Gray's eyes narrowed, "Our world follows a very strict system of control areas and certain powers that reign over said areas. It's all a very sophisticated system that I'd rather not go into detail with you, but it's basically what keeps us in our world and you pathetic humans safe and none the wiser as much as possible," the man paused, capturing Lucy's gaze before he continued, "And with this system, is a royal family; the arch-vampires."

"Arch-vampires?" Lucy asked, feeling way in over her head with even the small bit of information Gray was giving her, "What are those?"

"Basically they're the original vampires, the first of our kind. Their kind dates back to the dawn of humanity basically and thus, are the most powerful amongst us."

Lucy was in awe that such a creature could exist, also hoping she never had to come into contact with one, "And what does this have to do with Natsu?"

"Well, Lucy my dear," Gray smiled knowingly, "Natsu has their blood running through his veins."

Lucy gasped at that, "Natsu's a…arch-vampire?"

Gray chuckled, "Are you forgetting who Natsu's parents are? Did he leave that bit out too? His mother was a fucking human. He's a Halfling. A pathetic watered down version of a vampire. But what Natsu has on his side is his father's blood, that of the arch-vampires. It's what makes him one of the most powerful, despite his half blood nature."

"Okay so," Lucy paused, trying to keep up with all of this information and trying her best to not be overwhelmed, "Natsu's a powerful vampire. That still doesn't explain why Gajeel is after me."

It was Gray's turn to step back, "Of course it does. When it comes to mating, it's always about power; rising up in the ranks. Finding the right mate can sky rocket you up in the hierarchy and gain you power. Gajeel wants that and so he's after you, the result of Natsu's failed attempt at mating. Natsu's left you unprotected and only partially mated."

"Is Natsu more powerful than Gajeel then?"

"Are you not listening to anything I'm saying?" Gray scoffed, "Seriously, it's like I gotta spell every little detail out with you."

Lucy felt offended, "Well, excuse me for not knowing everthing about your weird vampire world."

"Whatever, just listen, alright?" Gray's patience was wearing thin, "Natsu's got arch-vampire blood running through him. He's the only son of Igneel, our previous arch-vampire lord. This makes Natsu the heir to his throne meaning that Natsu is more powerful than Gajeel could ever hope to be, even if he managed to steal you away from him."

The blonde's eyes widened. Natsu, an heir to a throne? Was he a prince or something? She hadn't realized that she had voiced out her thoughts until Gray responded to them, "Yes, although he ran away from his title, he can never run away from his blood. Natsu is in fact, Natsu Dragneel, Prince of the vampires."

* * *

 **A/N:** Dun dun duunnnnnn! Man, crazy shit's being dropped this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope it all came as a shock to each and every one of you. I know quite a few of you have been trying to make guesses as to where this sequel will go and it has been fun reading them all. Some of you are close while other thoughts are pretty far off; but keep guessing! I enjoy the attempts.

Again, please let me know your thoughts and criticisms and I hope you enjoy this next chapter of Accord!

(Sorry again that Natsu hasn't showed his ugly face yet…I know some folks have complained but he will come when he comes, don't worry!)


	4. Return

Lucy felt sluggish that morning.

Waking up to sunshine streaming into her room through her curtains, the blonde felt almost regretful for not feeling upbeat and happy along with the beautiful day. It was almost like the bright and sunny weather were rubbing it in her face jealously; a slap in the face with the reality that Lucy actually faced.

The blonde stretched her arms out, intending to bring relief to her stiff shoulders when her right arm came into contact with warm skin. Glancing over, Lucy was actually caught off guard to see her little bundle of pink hair snuggled into her covers. She felt her heart tug at the image of Aiden's sleeping face barely peaking over the white duvet of her bed. His eye brows were furrowed and his hands were clinging to the blanket in what almost seemed liked desperation. Her heart broke, almost aching at how scared Aiden had been last night; she had promised she would never step foot into that world and yet it had found her anyways and captured Aiden along with her. She could only imagine how rough the boy had slept last night.

Lucy reached over and gently pulled the boy closer to her, snuggling his small body up against her chest. Wrapping her arms around him, Lucy tucked her nose into the hair atop his head, feeling her body wrap around his tiny one in a weak attempt at taking away any of his scary dreams and worries. He was too young; he would only be six in a few months and yet even from an early age, Lucy knew Aiden shouldered a lot of responsibility and burden. Pulling away enough to be able to peak down at his sleeping face, she noticed with relief that it had smoothed out and calmed. Giving him a gentle kiss to his forehead, Lucy whispered into his ear, "I love you, Aiden."

The woman felt her mind drift to last night and to Gray sitting across from her at the kitchen table. His confessions had been foundation shaking but at the time, Lucy had felt she was barely grasping the weight behind it all. She tried to be strong, stronger than she ever had been all these years and yet despite how long it had been, her heart and soul still called out to another pink haired man she once snuggled with in bed years ago.

It had nearly been six years since she said goodbye to Natsu and yet the vivid memory of being pressed up against the wall and feeling his warm, solid figure cage her in was still just as present in her mind as the day it occurred. She still kept the promise they made with one another close to her heart, but with all that was occurring, Lucy felt her longing to see him grow even more painful as each day passed. She wondered where he could possibly be or what he was up to that could keep him away for so long.

All of a sudden though, Lucy felt Aiden start to move, his hands letting go of the duvet and reaching out towards Lucy's shirt, clinging to her instead. Smiling softly down at him, Lucy felt her world return to solid ground once more, Lucy felt herself slip back into the warm grips of sleep.

Even if Natsu was not with her, she felt his presence everyday through the love she felt for their darling son. Kissing the top of his head, Lucy fell asleep once more.

* * *

Lucy eventually felt her eyes twitch open, feeling slightly chilly. Shortly after regaining consciousness, the blonde realized her blankets had been tossed aside somewhere along the way between wake up number one and wake up number two. Glancing over, she sighed humorously, shaking her head in exasperation.

There, only a foot away, was her little bundle of joy wrapped up in his warm duvet cocoon. Not feeling guilty at all as it was most likely nearly noon already, Lucy gripped the blanket and used all her strength to rip the blanket away from her son, twisting and unraveling him from his blanket stealing ways and waking him up rather rudely, "Good morning blanket thief."

"Mommy," Aiden whined out in sleepy frustration, raising his arms and rubbing out the sleep from his eyes.

"Aiden," Lucy mimicked his pouting tone. She watched him twist his body, stretching it in ways Lucy knew her body could no longer move in, "hurry and wake up, kiddo, I smell breakfast."

It was only then that Aiden opened his brown orbs, taking a whiff of the air and shooting his mother a beaming smile, "Pancakes!" he screeched before leaping up and bounding out of the bedroom as if there were a fire stoked underneath him.

Lucy laughed after him, sitting up and taking her time to following the boy into the kitchen where she found Levy alert and wide awake, flipping golden pancakes in a frying pan and whistling a tune to herself, "Good morning."

"Morning," Levy smiled and called over her shoulder, "Mind setting the table, Aid?"

Aiden grunted out yes before running over to grab his stool, placing it below the cupboards where the plates were located before grabbing three of them. Lucy smiled and watched the familiar scene before her. It seemed almost normal despite the chaos that was beginning to creep to the surface. Seeing Levy's bandages still around her neck and sticking up from under her pajama top and waking up to Aiden snuggling in bed with her for the first time in years reminded Lucy that things were far from perfect in the Heartfilla-McGarden household, let alone the world outside.

"Lucy, I think the coffee's ready, mind making me a cup?"

The blonde smiled and nodded, "Sure, milk and two scoops of sugar?"

"You know it," Levy replied with a beaming smile, pouring in some more pancake batter into the sizzling pan.

Shortly afterwards, the three found themselves sitting around the table covering their pancakes in an assortment of toppings and syrups. Aiden enjoyed adding to his pancake masterpiece while Levy finally innocently commented, "You guys got back late."

If Levy noticed the look that passed between Lucy and Aiden, she didn't mention it. But Lucy eventually responded, "Aiden really wanted some ice cream so we took a drive before coming home. We were that late? Sorry."

She hated lying, especially to Levy. But in this instance, Lucy hadn't really thought through telling Levy about what was really going on. She felt that divulging one thing would lead ultimately to confessing everything and that was too much for Lucy, let alone Levy in her current state. Glancing over at Aiden who had remained silent since Levy spoke, Lucy realized there were truths she kept even from him. This tangled web of lies Lucy was spinning was going to blow up in her face and she knew it but refused to do anything about it at this point in time. She still needed to swallow all that Gray had told her before she even considered getting Levy and Aiden involved. A small voice in the back of her head kindly reminded her that they technically were already involved whether she liked it or not, but that was easily squashed down with another sip of her coffee.

Luckily for the blonde, Levy decided to not push the issue and the three helped clean up after breakfast and Lucy decided to shove it all onto the back burner for now, wanting to enjoy one of her rare days off. Aiden agreed, begging his mother to take him to the park down the street. Grabbing her jacket and purse, Lucy called back to Levy to not worry about lunch for them and was out the door with Aiden tugging her down the street.

Despite his energy this morning, the walk to the small park was mostly silent. Lucy took note and wondered if Aiden planned this or not, getting out of the house and away from Levy for the time being. She knew Aiden was aware she lied straight to Levy's face and that fact hurt her heart; another burden to load onto his already growing pile of worries, "Hey Aiden, wanna try the swings?"

The pink haired boy smiled and nodded, hopping onto one of the empty swings. Fortunately for the two of them, the park seemed to be relatively empty except for a young girl and her father who was waiting for her to come down the slide. Lucy smiled at the pair and turned to Aiden to see the young boy frowning, "Aiden?"

He forced a small smile, "It's nothing, Mommy."

Lucy knew it was not nothing; actually she had a pretty good guess as to what was causing the boy's sadness and it wasn't anything to do with last night's happenings, "You wanna talk about it?"

Aiden sighed but shook his head, "It's okay mom."

Silence reigned for a moment as Lucy came behind Aiden and gently pushed him to and fro. Both of them were deep in thought until finally Lucy decided it was high time to pull her son out of his sad thoughts, "Have I ever told you how I first met your father?"

That peaked the boy's interest immediately, confirming that it was this topic that was weighing the boy down the most, "No, you haven't."

"Well," Lucy began, finding a smile forming on her lips at the memory, "it was at a park similar to this actually. I was in high school at the time, just about to graduate and I had come to the park late at night to think about stuff." It was a rare occurrence having Aiden remain silent and not jump the gun with questions; it was a true testament to how much he loved to soak up anything that had to do with his father, "So while I was deep in thought, I remember he arrived quietly and simply sat down next to me. I hadn't noticed him at first until he said something. It made me jump because I hadn't realized he was there," Lucy chuckled fondly at the memory.

"What did he say?"

Lucy frowned, trying to remember, "I believe it was something like 'shouldn't a young girl like you not be out at night alone?' It was kinda creepy actually."

Aiden giggled, "Then what happened?"

The blonde smiled once more, "I remember not liking him too much at first. Your father you see, he enjoyed teasing and riling me up. Kinda like you sometimes actually," she smirked knowingly at her son who had stopped swinging all together and was turned facing her with eager eyes, "but we sat and chatted for quite some time. It was simple and we enjoyed each other's company. Enough so that we started to meet every night at that same park bench."

Aiden seemed to take it all in before nodding, remaining silent. Lucy felt a myriad of emotions of the memory of her first meeting with Natsu as well as the sad look that was quickly returning to her son's face. She wanted to ask him what was wrong but was afraid she wouldn't know how to fix it.

"Mom?"

Lucy perked up, "Yes, Aiden?"

"Will I ever meet my dad?"

And that was when her heart broke again, "Oh Aiden," Lucy sighed, kneeling down in front of her son and taking both of hands. With him sitting above her in the swing, she stared into his eyes before pulling him off his perch on the swing and into a big hug. The two sat there for a few minutes, Lucy rubbing his small bad comfortingly as Aiden let out a few tears, "I promise you Aiden, you will meet your father someday. I don't know when, but do you know what?"

Aiden sniffled and pulled away, rubbing his eyes furiously to dry them, "What?"

"Your father is going to think you are the coolest kid ever when he finally meets you," Lucy smiled.

"You think so?"

Lucy nodded, "Of course," she winked, "and if he doesn't, I'll punch him in the face or something. How does that sound?"

Aiden chuckled despite himself, "Don't hurt him mommy."

"Don't worry hun," Lucy hugged him closer again, "it takes more than that to hurt your father. He is and always will be one of the strongest people I've ever met."

The two returned to silence, basking in their heart to heart and hugging out their feelings. It was in these rare moments that she saw Aiden actually open up about his feelings regarding his basically non-existent father. Lucy never planned on keeping him a secret from Aiden but the fact that he was very much a vampire put a stopper on any of the blonde's intentions to confess.

The only thing Lucy held onto was the promise she and Natsu had made to one another before he left. That someday they would meet again; that their goodbye wasn't for forever. And with the escalating troubles surrounding this new vampire, Gajeel, and the information Gray gave her, she wondered if she would be running into her favorite vampire sooner rather than later.

"Hey mommy?"

Lucy pulled herself out of her thoughts and glanced at Aiden, "Yes, Aid?"

"My teeth hurt."

"What?" caught off guard entirely but his confession, Lucy sat back to get a good look at him.

Aiden nodded, gaining his mother's attention enough to open his mouth wide and point out the couple teeth that were causing him troubles, "These two."

Lucy noted that he was pointing at his canines and with the thought of vampires already circling her head, she tried her best to not go down that rabbit trail, "How long have they been hurting you?"

"A few days now," Aiden answered, closing his mouth.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I thought it would go away," he shrugged.

"Well here, lemme take a look," Lucy frowned, getting him to open his mouth once more. Tilting his head up, she inspected the surrounding gums and went to tap each tooth, "Does that hurt?"

"Kinda," Aiden mumbled, closing his mouth again when his mother seemed to be satisfied, "it's just feels like bruised or something."

"Really tender?" Aiden nodded, "Hmm well I don't know buddy, but how about we make an appointment for the dentist and they can take a look for you. How does that sound?"

Aiden smiled, seemingly satisfied with this idea, "Yea."

"Okay, time to head home? I'm sure Levy's lonely again and wants to hang out."

Her son giggled and hopped back up, grabbing his mother's hand and giving her a squeeze, "Hey mommy?"

"Yea honey?" Lucy asked as they made their way out of the park.

"I don't know why my daddy isn't here but," Aiden started, staring at his feet as they walked down the sidewalk, "you're a great mommy. I think he's silly to have left you."

Lucy felt like she was blindsided and her heart tightened as she blushed, "Where'd that come from?"

He shrugged, "You're just the best mommy, I think."

Feeling like her heart might explode, she squeezed Aiden's hand back in return, "Well, you're a pretty cool son too. Don't you forget that."

Aiden giggled and blushed, "I won't."

* * *

"Well Ms. Heartifillia I don't know what exactly we were expecting," the dentist started, "but according to these pictures, there really doesn't seem to be anything wrong with Aiden's teeth."

As the dentist was saying this, he sat up and opened a file with a couple of x rays. Clipping them to the light, he and Lucy were able to properly see an image of her son's young teeth, a few missing ones here and there he had lost over the past year or so, "Really?"

The dentist nodded his head, "Mhmm, I hoped these x rays would've shown us more but I can't find anything wrong with your son's teeth I'm afraid. His soreness might be a case of his adult teeth coming in and pushing on the baby teeth. But besides that from what I can tell, his teeth are healthy and strong."

Lucy felt her shoulders physical sink at that, letting out a sigh, "Are you sure? He says a couple of his teeth have been sore lately though."

The dentist smiled warmly at her confusion, "According to everything I see your son's teeth are perfectly healthy. He hasn't lost all of his baby teeth yet so it could be simply the new ones coming in prematurely. But even if that's the case, they aren't showing up on the x rays. It's odd but not entirely uncommon. But if you're still worried, just keep an eye on them and make sure he continues to brush and floss his teeth every day."

Lucy didn't waste any more time with the doctor as she said her farewells and went to meet Aiden who was still playing in the children's corner of the dentist's waiting room, "Hey Aiden, we're all finished here."

The pink haired boy hopped up and ran over to his mom, grabbing her hand as they made their way out of the office, "Did the dentist say anything?"

Lucy shook her head, "Looks like your teeth are as healthy as can be."

Instead of feeling relieved, Aiden looked rather confused and worried, "But then what's wrong with them?"

"Dentist says he's not sure," Lucy sighed, sympathizing with his frustration, "if they continue to bother you though honey, we can go see another dentist if you'd like?"

Aiden shook his head, "Nah it's okay. It's not all of the time and only these front teeth."

"Okay, just make sure you tell me next time they hurt, got it?" Lucy warned.

"Yes ma'am," Aiden replied smartly with a cute saluting gesture. The blonde only shook her head and directed them to the car to head home for the day since there was really no point in dragging her son back to school for the remaining hour or two.

"Levy, we're home!"

Aiden races in as soon as she opens the door, tossing his backpack and shoes to the side before running in the rest of the way to the house, happy to be home. Lucy only shakes her head and kicks her son's shoes to the side and out of the way before taking her own off and gently placing her purse and keys on the side table.

"In the kitchen, Lucy," She hears Levy's reply before she follows her call, finding the blue haired girl at the kitchen table with an array of gauze, tape and scissors around her, semi-dressed and changing her bandages, "Good timing, I kinda need your help with this if you don't mind?"

"Of course," Lucy smiled while taking the piece of bandage Levy had been manhandling around herself and finishing the process of unravelling it from around her upper body. As she removed the old material, Lucy was able to get a better view of her roommate's healing scars. The red, irritated skin was still very present but luckily underneath all of the stitches the wounds seemed to be healing nicely, "How much longer until you can remove the stitches?"

"Doctor says I still have another couple weeks," Levy answered, using her free hands to assemble the materials needed to reapply her bandages, "I can't wait for this to be all done with, honestly."

"Yea, I bet," Lucy replied with a sad smile, "Does it still hurt at all?"

"Sometimes but..." Levy started but thought better of it, "Well, it'll be all over and done with soon enough."

"But what?"

"Nothing, Lucy, it's fine."

Lucy deadpanned, finally turning the girl around to look her in the eyes once she had removed the remaining bits of old gauze, "Levy."

Levy sighed in defeat, "Fine, it's just that, well, lately I've been having trouble sleeping."

Lucy was caught off guard by that, "You have? How come you didn't say anything?" Today certainly was turning into a day of surprising confessions.

The blue haired girl was silent a moment before sighing and continuing, "It's nothing, just been having nightmares is all."

Continuing to replace her old bandages, Lucy decided this matter needed to be discussed, "Nightmares? About what?"

"The day I was attacked."

It was Lucy's turn to pause at that, feeling her fingers freeze against her friend's skin, "Really? Levy why didn't you tell me? What happens in them?"

Lucy felt her friend's body stiffen as if she were relieving the nightmares right then and there, "I see my attacker. Well not exactly, but I know it's him. He has these red eyes that I just can't seem to shake off. I don't know, I sound crazy...red eyes, seriously? And I didn't tell you because I didn't want to make you worry anymore than you already have been."

The blonde wanted to pull her best friend into a tight hug but refrained for fear of reopening any wounds. But her heart went out to the girl who continued to relive the night of her near fatal attack. Should she tell her? Should she finally confess her recent confrontation with the same monster who nearly killed her best friend? The blonde wasn't sure what to do in this instance. Telling her that bit information would most likely lead itself into confessing everything else: her relationship with the monster, her knowledge of what he was, and how she came to even interact with vampires in the first place and naturally that would lead to Aiden and his relationship to it all and in the end Lucy just didn't think this was a conversation to be having just yet.

But Levy noticed her friend's hesitant silence and called her out on it nonetheless, "Lucy, what's wrong?"

Lucy felt herself freeze, making a quick decision on the fly, "Levy there's...well, there's a lot I need to tell you. I feel I haven't been entirely honest with you about my history but at the same time, can I tell you later?"

Levy knew there had been something going on with her blonde friend but wasn't expecting her to say that let alone for it to be so easy to drag it out of her, "Yes of course, Lucy. But what is it exactly? Are you okay?"

Lucy stepped back and watched as Levy finished up closing her bandages and finally stood to face her, "It's just...trust me when I say I can't tell you yet, okay? It's...ugh, sorry, it's a bit much to say and I just—"

Levy smiled and reached out, placing a hand on her best friend's shoulder, "Hey, don't worry. Just promise me you'll tell me and I'm okay with waiting til you're ready, alright?"

Lucy felt her eyes sting with a tear or two, pulling her overly understanding friend into her chest for a hug, "Thanks Levy, I promise I'll tell you when I'm ready."

The blonde hadn't realized how heavy this burden had become over the years; surprised at how easy the tears wanted to come. But having kept Levy in the dark about Aiden's father and all that secret had in store had finally worn the blonde girl out. Now that Levy had had her taste of vampire, it was only fair to tell her the truth, in so much as she had the right to know for her own safety in the mix of it all.

"How about tomorrow?" Lucy decided, pulling back from her hug with Levy, "I have tomorrow off work so let's hang out."

Levy smiled and nodded, "I'd like that. It feels like it's been forever since we spent any time together. Aiden will be at school so let's have a good old best friend date?"

Lucy smiled and laughed at that, "Let's make this happen, I'm looking forward to it."

"Then it's set. You work tonight, no?"

The blonde glanced at the clock and sighed, "Yea, in an hour. I better get ready. You mind watching Aiden tonight?"

Levy almost looked offended, "Umm do you even have to ask?"

"True," Lucy giggled, "He's in your care then!"

* * *

Lucy leaned against the counter, twiddling a pen in her hand and watching the hands of the clock tick by. It had been such a slow evening and that had been no surprise, but that didn't stop it from dragging on and being incredibly boring. Lucy usually came prepared for evenings such as these but it had slipped her mind as she said her goodbyes to Levy and Aiden a few hours back when she left the house.

The sound of the staff room door swinging open caught her attention. She watched as Wendy, her coworker, hip check the door open, both hands occupied with carrying a tray of new sugary treats. Lucy wandered over to help her out, grabbing a pair of plastic gloves and started grabbing a few donuts to line them up in the glass display next to the til, "You just make these?"

The long dark haired girl shrugged, "We have time and I don't think they've been taken care of today. Actually, these old ones might be too old," the young girl said offhandedly as she took one of the older biscuits and gave it a whiff and a squeeze, "Too hard."

Lucy continued to replace the old with the new as she watched Wendy start grabbing the expired goods to toss, "So anything new in your life?"

Wendy paused in thought before shaking her head, "Nothing interesting. You?"

The blonde almost wanted to chuckle at that, ironically knowing there were quite a few interesting things taking place in her life recently. But she decided this was not the time nor the place to dish out terrifying news, "Nothing new for me either."

The two girls remained silent the rest of the time as they replaced the old food with freshly baked ones. It wasn't until Wendy went off to return the tray in the back when Lucy glanced up at the clock and realized her shift was finished already, "Oh, I'm off now, Wendy. You need me for anything?"

Wendy returned and giggled, "Of course not, any jobs you do would only take away from what I could do to keep myself busy. So it's okay!"

Saying her goodbyes, Lucy wasted no more time as she headed out the door and into the dead of night to find her car and go home. Rummaging through her purse to find her keys, the blonde missed the tell tale signs of something in the darkness watching her. Successfully finding her car keys, Lucy ran over to her car across the street, keying the door and unlocking it without much error. But just as she went to grab the handle to open the door, an arm slammed down on the car's roof next to her, caging her in and scaring the life out of her.

Lucy let out a shout in horror at the loud sound and, after seeing what it was that made her jump, she felt her blood run cold and her body freeze in terror. She felt him before she got a good look at him; the terrifyingly familiar feeling of his breath against her neck, "Gajeel..." she whimpered out, turning around and leaning back against the car to get some distance between him.

The taller man stood before her. His dark eyes gleaming red even through the darkness of night. His eyebrow rose in confusion, "You know who I am?"

Lucy gulped, nodding, "I do."

"How?"

The blonde had not been prepared to converse with the vampire who was currently out to capture her but what else was new in her life that made absolutely no sense, "Gray told me about you."

At the mention of that vampire's name, Gajeel tilted his head back and let out a deep and amused laugh, "Gray that pansy ass. I owe him a beating for what he pulled the other night," returning his gaze back to the blonde before him, he continued, "But he won't be bothering us tonight."

Lucy squeaked as the man pressed up against her, caging her in and preventing any chance of escape, "No, please stop this!"

"You absolutely reek of that bastard," Gajeel grunted, leaning further in and burying his face into her hair and neck, "I'll change that."

She wanted to stop him, really she did, but the weight of his strong body was doing its job successfully of preventing her getting away. Her fears were growing as she once again felt his tongue dart out, covering a trail up her neck and to her ear lobe where he gave her a nibble. Lucy whimpered, her gut clenching at the unwanted feelings he was stirring up in her, "Please no."

Lucy hated herself for feeling this helpless, this weak and pathetic. As she felt his arms reach out and grip her waist and hips, digging her into his obvious hard on, Lucy felt tears streak down her cheeks in horror for what was about to happen. Looking up into the night sky and seeing no chance of escape, the blonde felt her thoughts finally come to a stop, realizing that her weak attempts at wiggling hey way out of this were futile at best.

"Quit moving and I'll try to make this enjoyable for you," Gajeel mumbled into her shoulder as he bit her collarbone, "It'll all be over before you know it."

Lucy whimpered, feeling her skin crawl in disgust wherever he tasted or touched her. And yet, despite it all, her thoughts slowly drifted; her mind, as if protecting her, dragged her away from her current predicament to a far off time and place when another man had held her like this, tasted her like this. Her thoughts held such a tangible realness to them that it shouldn't have been surprising to her when his name reached her lips after so many years, "Natsu."

Gajeel suddenly backed off, his body no longer pressed up against her intimately as it had been. Lucy realized somewhere along the line she had closed her eyes. Opening them, she gasped, seeing Gajeel no longer with her and a new figure standing before her., over top of Gajeel's body. The blonde hadn't heard him approach but despite that, she felt her gratitude towards this new figure for a moment. Pushing off the car, Lucy watched in almost slow motion as the new figure turned to her, allowing some of the night light to capture the contours of his face.

Lucy gasped, her hands reaching her mouth in surprise. His jaw line, the gentle strength of his chin and those familiar piercing eyes of his; the strength his shoulders provided her as well as the gentle hue of soft pink atop his head. It was all jarringly familiar that the blonde couldn't help but feel she was in a dream.

"Natsu."

* * *

 **A/N:** So, I feel like I kept you waiting way too long for Natsu's arrival (I had my reasons) so I posted this one before I went to work instead of after. Next chapter will make up for his absence. :3

Now, onto reviewer questions and comments! You guys are asking some really good questions and, for obvious reasons, I can't say much. But I did want to address and that was the question as to how Gray beat Natsu way back in Enigma if Natsu's blood is stronger. It's kind of complicated and there's a lot of gray (pun intended) areas when it comes to vampire power. One variable I already brought up is that of the age of the vampire; the older you are, generally the more powerful.

But now that I've mentioned arch-vampires and Natsu's blood, a few reviewers have asked how Gray managed to beat Natsu even if he was older. Basically, Natsu's blood makes him powerful yes, but more so 'politically' rather than 'physically'. Does that make sense? Natsu hasn't fully tapped into his full potential when it comes to his blood either; Natsu has a higher potential to meet than Gray has. Also, Natsu is half human so his blood is watered down compared to his father's. So, for those reasons, and that he was emotionally tampered with having Lucy in the mix, Gray was able to get the upper hand on Natsu in Engima that one time.

Also, I'm glad a few of you have picked up on the few Fairy Tail anime/manga shoutouts I've sprinkled in. There will be more to come. :P

And finally, I know one of you commented on Aiden and his vampirism and as you can see in this chapter, I had already intended on subtly foreshadowing Aiden's eventual transformation.

Anywho, give a big warm welcome to the return of our vampire prince, Natsu! R&R!


	5. Forever

"Natsu," Lucy gasped out at the sight of him. She could barely make him out in the dead of night but even with the small amount of light the night sky provided, Lucy could easily tell who it was that stood before her.

He was watching her just as intently; taking her all in after such a long time apart. But it was the sound of groaning that reminded Natsu that Gajeel was far from being dealt with, "Lucy, you need to get out of here now."

The blonde felt her heart skip a beat at the sound of his voice despite herself, almost not even listening to what he was saying, but his words of warning were not entirely lost on her, "Wait, but..."

"Lucy, leave," Natsu interrupted abruptly, but quickly sent her a gentle smile her way, "Don't worry about me."

Lucy sighed in exasperation but seeing Gajeel picking himself up off the ground was rushing her decision making process and not giving her much time to argue, "Fine, but please stay safe."

Natsu nodded and turned back to the dark haired vampire, allowing Lucy to hop into her car and take off down the street. With her a safe distance away, the pink haired vampire allowed a devilish smirk to cross his lips, eyes already glinting a deep blood red as he cracked his knuckles, "So Gajeel, you dare lay hands on my woman?"

He was going to have some fun.

* * *

It wasn't until Lucy gently shut her bedroom door that she could breath properly again. She had arrived home in such a flurry, that she was surprised Levy and Aiden hadn't tied her down and demanded an explanation. Luckily for Lucy, she was able to convince them she was just high strung from a busy evening at work and was able to put Aiden to bed for the night before school and somehow dodge all of Levy's suspicious stares.

A few hours had passed and even Levy was off to bed for the evening. Lucy, unfortunately, had no such luck. Her thoughts were scattered after seeing Natsu all these years. She knew she wasn't going to sleep at all tonight. Was he safe? Were they still fighting? Did he win? Did Gajeel win? Would Natsu come find her or would he leave her once more?

Lucy sighed. She was regretting leaving him behind after all.

Taking another deep breath to calm her heart, Lucy shuffled to her dresser to grab her pajamas and get ready for bed like she usually did. Luckily she had the day off tomorrow because she was not in the mindset to pull any shift after all this. But that reminded her of her date with Levy and suddenly the blonde felt guilty; should she cancel? Trying to be normal in front of Levy was probably the last thing she wanted to do at that point when she knew Natsu was nearby.

Pulling her pj shorts up her legs before grabbing her shirt, Lucy was so entirely absorbed in her thoughts that she failed to notice the figure that had entered her room through the window. Tossing her shirt on over her chest, the blonde turned and gasped out, finally noticing that she was no longer alone in her room.

"Shhh," the figure whispered, "It's just me."

Lucy instantly relaxed and felt waves of relief at the sight of Natsu, "You came."

Natsu paused, feeling suddenly nervous, "Should I not have?"

The blonde shook her head, "No, I...I wanted you to."

Why she felt shy around him so suddenly was beyond her. With her heart beating miles a minute, she couldn't seem to get any words out or do anything besides stare at him. But she assumed she wasn't the only one as she watched him simply stand before her, watching her reaction as he finally took a step towards her, "Lucy I.." but he quickly cut himself off, not knowing what to say.

She noticed he wasn't as badly injured as she thought he would be, she thought as she looked him up and down. Lucy had to wonder if he managed to heal the majority of his wounds before arriving. But it was only now in the silence and safety of her room that she noticed how much he had changed. His jaw seemed stronger, his frame too seemed to have broadened, and even his hair was so much longer, nearly reaching his neck, "You need a haircut."

Lucy blushed, not knowing why that should be the first thing out of her mouth after years of nothing seeing each other; she really knew how to ruin the moment. But fortunately, the tension seemed to instantly dissipate with the sound of Natsu's chuckling that eventually bubbled into a full out laugh, "Shit, yea I kinda do, huh?"

The blonde only blushed more but laughed along with him, "I can try cutting it if you'd like?"

Natsu finally stopped laughing and smiled, so much emotion in his charcoal eyes as they looked her way, "I'd like that."

* * *

"Okay, I think I'm finished," Lucy said, grabbing for her small mirror and handing it over to Natsu while she took away the towel wrapped around his shoulders and began to clean up their mess.

He took it from her from where he sat in her room, bringing it up to his face to get a better look of his new hair cut. Natsu felt himself smile, his bangs were finally out of his face and overall it felt lighter and cleaner. Returning the mirror to Lucy after she tidied up, he smiled, "Thanks, Luce."

Lucy blushed and nodded, "It was nothing."

Natsu stood and it was like a switch was flicked back on, awkward tension once more filling the room. Lucy hated it and yet she couldn't seem to get passed this feeling of strangeness. Natsu had been someone she considered to be her one and only best friend. She would always remember their night time chats at the park fondly and the way his hands, lips, and tongue would cover every inch of her body and drive her crazy like no one else ever could. But here they stood, awkward strangers separated after many years.

Lucy wouldn't stand for it.

Walking closer, the blonde only stopped once she felt their chests just barely touch. Her head turned up, looking into his eyes. Luckily he hadn't stepped away, almost as if he were reading her thoughts, waiting for her to do what she planned to do.

So with the confidence his eyes gave her, she reached her hand up and gently caressed his cheek, rubbing her thumb over his cheek bone gently. Almost instantaneously, Natsu let out a long breath and leaned into her palm, soaking in everything that was Lucy. Getting carried away in his emotions, he turned his lips into her palm and kissed her wrist before whispering, "I missed you, Luce."

The blonde felt tears sting her eyes, "I missed you, too," she let go of the little control she had left and practically leapt into his arms, hugging him as hard as she could. It wasn't until she felt his arms wrap around her waist that she let the tears fall.

"His name's Aiden," Lucy whispered gently, standing and watching Natsu from her son's doorway, "I wanted to tell you but...you were kinda hard to get a hold of."

Natsu was still reeling from the shock of being thrust into fatherhood so suddenly as he stood next to Aiden's bed, watching the little boy sleep. The vampire furrowed his brow as he watched the rise and fall of his small chest intently before whispering, "Aiden."

He wasn't going to lie, the idea terrified him. Natsu never imagined having children of his own and yet here he was, his son. The pink haired man hadn't believed Lucy when she first confessed his existence but seeing the boy before him, it was undeniable.

Lucy's eyes fell to the floor, her nerves getting the best of her. After their heartfelt reunion, the blonde knew it was only fair that Natsu knew immediately about Aiden and it was even fairer for her to give him the choice to either accept or reject him as well. Unfortunately, Aiden had already been fast asleep but maybe this was for the best. She didn't know how Natsu would take the news. Remembering what she told Aiden earlier that very day of her belief in Natsu accepting Aiden, having this moment thrust upon her so quickly shook her confidence. What would Natsu do?

However, Natsu couldn't peal his eyes away from the small pink haired boy, fascinated with every part of him. He could instantly pick out Lucy's features all over from his gentle nose to the delicate way his lips parted. Natsu wondered what his eyes looked like, what color they were. But the only thing that really convinced him that Aiden was, in fact, his son, besides his obvious smell, was the soft pink hair that was splayed out over his pillow chaotically from the throws of sleep, "He's beautiful."

Natsu's words seemed to break the spell and Lucy choked back a sob at Natsu's apparent acceptance of the boy, "I'm sorry you never knew."

Natsu glanced back at Lucy, shaking his head, "I understand."

It was almost difficult to pull Natsu from the room, but Lucy convinced him that if they stayed any longer they would wake Aiden up and he needed to be up early for school the next morning. Pulling him along by the hand, Lucy and Natsu returned to her bedroom where they flopped onto her bed.

"I didn't even know I could have kids," Natsu muttered absentmindedly.

"You didn't?"

"Well, I'm a vampire, I just thought that was one of the things that came along with it," Natsu shrugged, flopping back onto his back, "not being able to have kids of my own. I mean, I'm not full human after all."

Lucy sat in wonder, "Then how do vampires procreate?"

Natsu shrugged, reaching his arms up behind his head to rest them underneath it, "They don't. Vampires are only made by getting bitten and transformed; not by usual human means."

"Huh," Lucy blinked, having never thought much on the idea of vampires and their ways of life before now, "Gray never mentioned anything like that when he learned of Aiden."

That caught Natsu's attention, immediately sitting up again, "Gray? How the fuck does he know about Aiden?"

The blonde would've giggled at his immediate reaction upon the mentioning of Gray's name were it not for the fact that Natsu might actually kill Gray for it, "Long story short, that wasn't the first time Gajeel attacked me. Gray saved me and naturally found out about Aiden when he was here."

Remembering the rest of the evening with Gray reminded her of all the questions she wanted to ask Natsu but the pink haired man didn't seem to notice as he pressed forward, "Gajeel's attacked you before? The fucker, if I knew that, I wouldn't have let him off as easy as I had."

Before he could get any angrier, Lucy stepped in, "Well, Gray told me why he might be after me."

"Wait, Gajeel's after you?" Lucy held his full attention, "Why?"

"Yes, it's all hard to wrap my head around," she sighed, "Gray told me a lot so I don't know if I'll get it all correct but what he told me...he told me about who you really are and why I'm being targeted."

Natsu's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "And who did Gray tell you I am?"

"That you're..." Lucy took a deep breath for courage before saying it, "...a prince. He talked about the arch-vampires and different kinds of mating ceremonies and it was all a bit much but...to be honest, I'd really like to hear it from you."

Natsu sighed and, suddenly feeling his exhaustion, raked his hands through his hair to scratch his scalp, not even knowing where to begin let alone finding the energy to tell, "Ah, he told you that huh? Well, where should I start?"

The desperate look Natsu sent her almost made Lucy feel bad for putting this all on him the first night back but with the growing danger surrounding her and Aiden, the blonde had to push forward despite Natsu's apparent discomfort, "How about we start with who you really are," she paused, sending him a small smile, "Please?"

He looked like he wanted to argue though and Lucy was not going to have it this time. She refused to be kept in the dark any longer not only for herself, but for that adorable boy of hers who was sound asleep only a hallway away, "Natsu, you need to tell me."

Natsu sighed, seeing no way out of this, "Fine, just...give me a second."

Taking a long moment to collect himself, Natsu looked up and held Lucy's stare intently, "What Gray said was probably all true. He's a fucking piece of shit but he wouldn't go telling you lies. So yes," the pink haired man sighed, "I'm a prince or however you'd like to put it. But at the same time," he glanced away, "I'm not."

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows, "You're not? What do you mean?"

Natsu scowled, feeling years of torment building up, "I've told you already that my mother was a human, right? It's all because of her. Because of her, I'm a half. Half vampire, half human. So because of that," his lips turned downward, "most don't see me as heir to my father. I'm the only son of Igneel but most would only spit in my face because of my mother's blood."

Lucy almost couldn't believe the harshness in his tone of voice, recognizing the pain for what it was; this went far beyond simply being half human, "Natsu I…I'm sorry."

The pink haired man sighed again, regaining control over his emotions before glancing back up at Lucy, "It's alright, I gave up on the idea of ever claiming my title years ago so it's whatever."

She furrowed her brow once more, confused at that, "Why?"

Natsu shrugged, "Cause I couldn't give two fucks about it, that's why."

Finding she would get nowhere on this subject if she kept pushing him, Lucy decided to press onwards, "Whatever, so you're a prince. Who cares what they think? Igneel had no other sons and if he's King, you're prince. End of story."

Natsu turned to look at her, blinking with his mouth slightly parted in surprise. Among all the trauma and rejection he had ever experienced throughout his entire life because of his humanity, this one girl shattered it all with her blunt sincerity. Natsu had to admit, she had changed in the short time he was away but, no matter what anyone said, she was very much the same Lucy he had known those years ago. So with that, it was no surprise when the pink haired man burst into laughter, "You're really something, you know?"

Lucy hushed him, reminding him of the others who were sleeping, blushing madly, "Yea, whatever. But what I wanna know is what's that got to do with Gajeel going after me then? Gray told me it was because you are so high up in some vampire hierarchy that Gajeel wants me."

Natsu blinked, trying to keep up, "Because I'm some illegitimate heir and you're mine, he wants you?"

Lucy was beginning to wonder how much Natsu even knew about all of this or even about his own world, "Yes, because of some desire to gain some weird upward movement in your silly vampire hierarchy, he's come after me to mate me or….something."

She hated it but she couldn't help blushing at the mentioning of mating.

Natsu seemed to pale at that, "Mate? But you're…"

"No one's mated with me, Natsu," Lucy sighed, taking a deep breath to calm herself, "Gray said you started the ritual but never finished."

"I started it?"

"Aiden," Lucy answered matter of factly, "getting me pregnant is some weird partial mating ceremony," the blonde blushed, "is what Gray told me. You started the process but it still needs to be completed with some blood exchange."

Natsu nodded, seeming to take it all in and finally understand where she was going with this. He looked away, deep in thought. Lucy wished she knew what he was thinking but before she could even ask, he was already looking back at her, "So you're only partially mine but Gajeel sees that as enough to take you away from me in order to gain some sick excuse of power, do I got that right?"

"More or less, yea," Lucy shrugged, still blushing and wondering how he was taking it all in such stride.

He made some thoughtful noise before shrugged, stretching his neck, "That's all? Changes nothing."

Lucy was taken aback, "Wait what? It means nothing? What do you mean?" She frowned and glared at him, "A crazy dangerous vampire is after Aiden and I and that's nothing to you?"

Natsu frowned, "That's not what I said. I said it changes nothing," he smirked, "Anyone touches either of you or Aiden, they're dead. That includes Gajeel."

Lucy blushed, eyes widening at his brashness. But before she knew it, what started out as a smile eventually turned into a giggle. This entire thing was becoming rather ridiculous, but at least now it seemed she had Natsu by her side and he seemed just as confident as ever in his ability to, not only protect her, but their son as well, "I'm glad you're back, Natsu."

Despite his confusion, he smiled down at her, "I am too."

"What made you come back though?" Lucy asked, crawling back up and sitting next to him once more, "What were you doing this whole time?"

Natsu huffed, rubbing his face and fingering his short bangs, "To be honest, didn't do a whole lot."

"Really?"

"Well yea," Natsu shrugged, "when I left you behind, I didn't have much of a plan. I've always ever just went with the flow and traveled somewhere, crashed their until folks started to ask too many questions, then packed up and left again. So in all honesty, that's pretty much what I've been doing this whole time."

He wasn't about to mention the fact that he had once again tried to find his father because that was another embarrassing failure Natsu didn't want to revisit this late at night.

Lucy was nodding before she asked further, "So why'd you come back then?"

"Back?" Natsu repeated. When she nodded, he laid his head back, staring up at the ceiling and stretching his neck, "Not gonna lie, you mentioning that Gray said I only started the mating ceremony makes it all more clear to me."

"It does?" Lucy raised an eyebrow his way in curiosity, "How?"

Natsu shrugged again, looking back down to her as he smiled, "You pulled me back. Whatever mating process I started, it already had an effect on me it seems. Especially lately anyways; it's like you've been calling for me and with all the crazy shit Gajeel's been pulling, I'm not surprised."

It was a simple confession, but nonetheless it hit Lucy harder than she realized. Her eyes suddenly stung with the beginnings of tears as she was hit with wave after wave of emotion. From becoming the target of some crazed vampire to taking everything Gray told her in to this very moment of having Natsu back in her life; it all seemed to be hitting her all at once. The force of it all had her covering her face as the tears began to pour out again that same evening.

Natsu was actually quick on the uptake. His eyes widened in surprise but his arms responded quicker as he pulled the tiny blonde girl into his arms, holding her tight against his chest as her emotions wracked her body, "Shhhh, it's okay, Luce." He awkwardly rubbed her back in what he hoped were soothing circles. The pink haired man had not been expecting that reaction but when he caught sight of the tears, Natsu realized that it was this that had beckoned his soul to return to her. Although all of the details were still fuzzy, Natsu knew this girl had been shouldering too much again, just as she had been before when he left her.

"Will you stay?"

Natsu blinked, his hand on her back pausing, "What?"

Lucy pulled away far enough from his reach to look up at his face. Natsu's heart cringed at the sight of her cheeks, soaked in tears. But he waited patiently for her to sniffle and hiccup and repeat what she said, "Will you stay?"

That was the million dollar question. Natsu would do anything to stay and yet, he had ruined her life in so many ways just by being around her. Would he dare to put her through that all again just to be with her? And it wasn't just her anymore. Now with Aiden in the picture, it was the definition of selfishness on his part to even want to stay, "I want to but…"

Lucy looked confused, "But?"

Natsu sighed, lifting up his other hand to wipe away her tears with his palm, "I want to but just being with me, you and Aiden will be in danger. I'm a vampire, Luce. You can't have forgotten what all happened that made me leave in the first place, right?"

The blonde sighed, nodding in understanding. But suddenly a fire burned in her eyes, a certain courage that he had never seen before, "But Aiden and I are in danger even if you aren't here. And even still," she looked up at him, determined, "I forgave you a long time ago."

Natsu's jaw clenched at that, forcing back a wave of emotion that caught him off guard. Oh how he had missed the emotions this girl made him feel. He blinked before wrapping his arms around her small frame again and pulling her into his chest, squeezing her tightly, "Thank you Lucy."

They stayed that way for quite some time, soaking in each other's presence and the feelings that seemed to finally begin to fade back to normal. It was a few deep breathes later that Lucy found her voice again, "So does this mean you'll complete the mating ceremony?"

Despite everything, the two adults still couldn't fight back the blushes that coloured their faces. Natsu frowned though, "Luce, I can't do that to you…didn't Gray tell you what that even involved? I basically would have to kill you."

"It's a blood exchange," Lucy nodded, "I understand. But it's just…Gajeel, and even other vampires, will always be after me because you haven't finished this. I mean, I get that it's scary but…unless that is, you don't want to mate with me?" Suddenly that option hit her and Lucy was doubting everything all over again. Was she forcing Natsu, guilting him into mating with her just so Gajeel would get off her back? "You don't have to finish it if you don't want to, I—"

Lucy felt her rambling come to a standstill when two warm and callused hands came up and cupped her cheeks, turning her to stare directly at a smirking Natsu, "Luce, where on earth does you mind wander?" The blonde blushed before he continued, "If I were to mate with anyone, it could only ever be with you, Luce. But I just…" his confident smirk was replaced with a frown, "the idea of putting you through any of that…"

She understood finally where his hesitancy came from. Her heart squeezed at that; her feelings for him rushing to the surface and guiding her hands to his cheeks, mirroring his grip on her face. Lucy gained his attention the instant her fingers touched hiss kin and she sent him the warmest smile she could manage with his giant palms on her cheeks, "Natsu, I trust you."

Natsu blinked, feeling his eyes almost water at that. It had been so long since he cried and once again he had Lucy to thank for the roller coaster of emotions she made him feel. Rubbing his thumbs along her cheek bones, he finally leaned down, feeling his heart guide his movements. He watched Lucy close her eyes gently before he closed his just as their lips met.

Natsu felt electricity at their point of contact. Her lips melded against his and his heart cried out; it had been much too long since he tasted her, felt her and heard her sighs of contentment against his lips. Tilting his head, he deepened the kiss, parting his lips and allowing his tongue to swipe along her bottom lip. This drew out a soft moan from the girl and Natsu couldn't help himself as he leaned forward, pushing the girl backwards onto her bed so that he could cage her in. His body over hers, he allowed his hands to gently move down her neck, one skimming her skin and reaching for her waist. Lucy had also moved her hands to a much comfier spot in his hair where she toyed with his freshly cut pink locks.

It was only when their tongues had their fun and their lungs were crying out that Natsu finally pulled away, bringing his hands back in order to lean on his elbows. His body lay over top of hers and the familiarity of it all had his mind going almost numb, "Someday, Lucy. I promise you."

"We said forever, right?" Lucy breathed out, still catching her breath.

Natsu smiled, giving her one last chaste kiss before he pulled her into his arms, rolling them over and pulling her into him as he lay on his side, "Forever."

* * *

 **A/N:** Wooooooow, this came out so stinkin' fluffy! Gosh, this is so not horror anymore...lol And it's also a few hours later than I usually upload my updates so apologies. lol But here's the long awaited reunion chapter! I apology for the fluff but honestly? Let's call this a pre-gift for all the shit that will be coming. Like I said, this is still horror/romance so amongst the romance, the horror still remains. Although these first few chapters have been extremely tame, I warn you now: you will hate me.

Anywho, again, I can't put into words how much your reviews and comments mean to me! I honestly am so humbled that people even read this. It means the world to me! Continue telling me your thoughts and ideas! I adore them! R&R!

ALSO! I'm traveling back home to Canada for a week and although I will get back this time next week, the update will not be written by then because I want to focus on family and friends, etc. So, apologies, but next week's update might be a few days late. Just a heads up! :3


	6. Mommy's Friend

Lucy woke abruptly to the feeling of stiff muscles and the cold feel of her naked back up against something wet, cold, and solid. The blonde moaned as she struggled to open her eyes; her lids so heavy it was a surprise she managed to even move them at all.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness surrounding her, the woman attempted to rub them but failed. Moving her wrists, Lucy quickly realized her arms were tied up tight together behind her back. That explained her aching shoulders and arms but it only brought about more confusion. Lucy felt a growing fear settle in her belly as she finally took a moment to look around as her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, allowing her a better view of her surroundings.

Upon seeing the tiny slit of light creeping from underneath a doorway a few feet away from her, Lucy saw it was her only exit. The walls around her appeared to be cement or concrete which explained the cold surface behind her; it almost seemed like some dungeon or prison room. Lucy also learned that her legs were tied up as well with a thick piece of rope around her ankles in much the same fashion as her wrists were.

But rather than lose her shit and scream bloody murder, Lucy closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she attempted to remember the events that led up to this moment and calm her growing nerves.

* * *

(24 hours earlier)

It was a morning unlike any other. Or at least, it had been awhile since she had felt this content waking up.

Lucy opened her eyes against the beams of sunlight that were streaming through her window and kissing her skin. Her eyes immediately scanned the room before her arms reached out to stretch her shoulders up above her head. But when she tried to move them, the blonde immediately remembered she was not alone. A pair of warm, strong arms were securely wrapped around her waist and only seemed to tug her in tighter when she tried to move any further.

A small smile played on her lips as she snuggled deeper into Natsu's grasp. A gentle sigh left his lips before he pulled her even closer, brushing his lips across the back of her neck, "G'mornin'," he mumbled.

Lucy felt shivers down her spine at the feel of his hot breath against her skin. It took her a second to fight off the blush before replying with a glance over her shoulder, "Good morning."

She could have spent the entire day like this, curled up against the pink haired man, whom she suddenly realized was shirtless as well, but Lucy knew it would have to end shortly once she glanced at the clock on her bedside table. It was almost time to wake Aiden up and get him out the door for school and Levy would be waking shortly as well.

Lucy sighed before pulling away from Natsu.

"Luce," Natsu whined at the loss of the girl, "where you goin'?"

She chuckled lightly watching the salmon-haired man struggle to pull the blankets towards him to cover his face from the daylight. She rolled over to the side of the bed before sitting up and stretching her back out, "I have to get Aiden ready for school."

That seemed to wake the man up, "Aiden?"

She glanced back at Natsu, seeing that his eyes were finally open and alert, "Yes, he's got school this morning."

Natsu seemed to think that over for a second before nodding, "He's old enough huh?" He mumbled to himself as he sat up, stretching as well. Feeling his back crack, Natsu rolled his neck and watched as Lucy slipped on a pair of jeans and a comfy tee shirt, "Do you uhh…need any help?"

Lucy blinked, raising an eyebrow once she got her new shirt over her head, "Help?"

The man shrugged, rubbing his neck and glancing away, a small blush apparent on his cheeks, "Yea help. With Aiden."

The blonde immediately understood and smiled, "Only if you want to."

And with that, Natsu and Lucy were up and heading to the kitchen to make some breakfast. Lucy knew they only had a few minutes left before she had to wake Aiden but she found herself wishing for more alone time with Natsu. Yes she missed the man dearly, but the reality of Aiden being alert and awake and meeting this random man in their kitchen without any real explanation was suddenly making the blonde incredibly nervous. Was now the time to introduce Aiden to his long lost father? How would he take it?

However, it wasn't Aiden she would have to introduce Natsu to first, Lucy realized as she saw Levy make her entrance into the kitchen.

The blue haired girl instantly froze, eyes widening as she caught sight of Natsu who was currently searching for the coffee grounds in one of the upper shelves of a cupboard, "Uhh…"

Natsu also froze, the look of panic that crossed his face was almost cute enough to make Lucy laugh but the blonde knew she had some explaining to do that took precedent, "Uhh good morning Levy," Lucy dumbly began waving her hand in greeting, "This is Natsu, Natsu this is Levy."

The pair awkwardly waved hands and exchanged their greetings before they returned their gazes to Lucy. She could tell Levy was eagerly waiting for an explanation but the problem was what was appropriate to tell her? But luckily for her, Natsu cut in with an excuse as to why he was in their house early in the morning.

"Lucy and I are friends from awhile back," Natsu shrugged, "I ran into her last night and she invited me over."

Levy frowned, "Oh she did, did she?" She glanced at Lucy before continuing, "And he's still here why?"

Lucy fought off a blush but failed miserably, "Oh you know, we got to talking and catching up and it got late so I let him crash…"

Her roommate looked skeptical but eventually shrugged, "So is that why you were so jumpy last night? You know you can tell me if you have a guy staying over, we're adults Lucy. It's natural."

"No, he didn't stay for…that!" Lucy blushed madly and was fuming inside when she heard said man behind her chuckling, "Just..whatever. Levy, can you wake up Aiden? Natsu and I will get breakfast started."

Levy took that as her sign to stop talking before leaving the kitchen. Lucy sighed in relief but couldn't get rid of the blush the rest of the morning as she and Natsu made eggs and toast for the lot of them.

It was only a few moments later however, when the pair were joined by Levy and a wide awake Aiden, "Good morning mommy!"

Lucy beamed as she felt the boy come running up to her, hugging her legs from behind, "Good morning bud, sleep well?"

She felt the boy nod against her thighs, "Yup."

Aiden pulled away and realized he missed seeing the other figure was also in the kitchen with his mother. The boy was instantly curious and looked him once over. He was much taller than his mother and had a head of soft pink hair and lacked a tee shirt of any kind. Aiden noticed the man was also looking him over so the boy finally spoke, "Mommy, who's he?"

Luckily Levy chose to keep quiet and sit at the table instead of butting in. Lucy acknowledged that anyone could instantly notice the resemblance between these two boys the moment they caught sight of the two of them standing side by side, "Well, this is a friend of mine, Aid. His name is Natsu."

Aiden blinked once and took that in before reaching a hand out towards Natsu, "I'm Aiden, nice to meet you."

Natsu blinked in surprise and glanced at Lucy. The blonde only smiled and sent him a small nod which was an encouragement enough for Natsu to reach out and grasp the boy's small hand in return, "Nice to meet you too, Aiden."

Aiden finally smiled, shaking hands with the man and pulling his own hand back, "Wanna see my room?"

Natsu blanched at that, surprised at how quickly this boy was welcoming him and changing the subject entirely, "Uhh sure?" He looked to Lucy once again for permission but the blonde was only giggling and nodding his way. It was all Aiden needed before he was once again grabbing for Natsu's hand and pulling him out of the kitchen and down the hall so fast the boys barely heard Lucy calling out to be hurry because breakfast would be ready shortly.

Lucy was left in the trail of dust that was her son and Natsu and felt tears almost prick her eyes at how fast Aiden seemed to be taking a liking to Natsu. Hopefully this would only make their confession smoother once they finally told Aiden Natsu's true identity.

"So you going to explain to me who this guy really is or am I going to have to drag it out of you?"

The blonde jumped, forgetting that Levy was present and patiently waiting for an explanation from her spot at the kitchen table. Lucy sighed, "Yes, he's who you think he is."

Levy frowned, staring Lucy down, before her lips tugged upwards and the most inhuman screech left her mouth as she slapped her hands together and bounced on the chair she was perched on, "Oh my gosh, Lucy, seriously? That's him? Oh my, you scored big time! Wow!"

Lucy raised her hands and tried to quiet Levy's small fangirl session as fast as she could before Aiden caught wind of it, "Shhhh, Levy! He doesn't know!"

That quieted her right up, "Wait, who doesn't know? Does Natsu not know?"

"No, Natsu knows," Lucy frowned, "I told him last night. It's just that…Aiden doesn't know still, obviously."

Levy joined Lucy as she frowned as well, crossing her arms, "Do you plan on telling him?"

"Yes of course!" the blonde huffed but sighed almost immediately in defeat, shoulders sagging, "I just don't know how or when."

Levy remained silent for a few moments in deep thought, soaking it all in before finally giving her two cents, "Well, I don't think you need to rush it but I wouldn't worry too much about Aiden's reaction. He's always wanted to know who his father so he has that right to know. And the boy's so mature I'm sure he'd take it all in stride. So better sooner rather than later, I think."

Lucy smiled softly, "Yea, you're right. Thanks Lev."

Her roommate beamed, "It's my pleasure. I'm just happy to finally meet this guy; the mysterious lover who you've been keeping a secret from me all this time!"

Lucy blushed, "Levy!"

The blue haired girl burst into laughter before standing up, "Well, enough about that, let's get this breakfast finished, huh?"

* * *

Just down the hall, Natsu found himself hiding a smirk. Despite Lucy's best attempts at keeping her roommate quiet, the pink haired man had fortunately heard most of their conversation. At least he knew for certain that the small, blue haired girl seemed to accept him quite quickly. But returning his attention back to the small boy next to him, Natsu felt other worries settle in the pit of his stomach. Who knew the fierce and deadly killer that was Natsu would find himself worrying over whether some tiny kid would like him or not.

"And this one," Aiden continued his never ending showcase of his toys, "this one's my favorite. Look! It's got cool green and blue flames!"

His grubby finger poked at the side of a small toy car, showing off said green and blue flames to Natsu who sat cross legged next to the boy and his collection of small toy cars, "Pretty cool."

Aiden seemed pleased with the man's response because he was quickly tossing the toy car aside in search of another cooler object to show off, "Oh oh, here's my-."

Natsu couldn't fight off the small smile that tugged at his lips at the boy's enthusiasm. Aiden definitely seemed to be eager to show him every single toy he owned and it didn't look like he would stop until he was finished; talking a mile a minute and barely giving himself time to catch his breath as he went from toy to toy. Each toy had a story or memory attached to it and Natsu, despite struggling to keep up with it all, found it all worthwhile.

This was his son after all.

It was this very thought that continued to swirl around in his head as he listened to the young boy badger on about this and that. Natsu chose this time with Aiden to take him all in. The first time they had met was while Aiden had been fast asleep, after all. So with that in mind, Natsu found himself watching his son ever so carefully.

It was in the way he smiled, the way he used his words, and the way he expressed himself. For Natsu, it was in these small details that he saw Lucy shine through. Despite his striking resemblance to himself, it was in everything else that he reflected his mother. The way he gently handled his toys, how his eyes sparkled with a hidden passion through their chocolatey brown color. Natsu couldn't help but immediately feel instantly attached to this child he and Lucy unintentionally brought into the world.

"Hey there kiddo," Lucy poked her head inside the doorway of Aiden's room, "Breakfast's ready! Get your butt in there and eat up or you're gonna be late."

"Okay," Aiden nodded before grabbing for Natsu's hand again, "Come on!"

Lucy didn't even try hiding her laugh as she quickly moved out of the way and watched her two favorite guys barrel down the hallway and back into the kitchen. She quickly followed the two of them and joined Levy and the boys for breakfast. It was a quiet meal, mainly filled with Levy asking a billion and one questions to Natsu which Lucy eventually put a cap on before the blue haired girl got too eager.

It was as Lucy tossed her plate into the sink and rinsed it off that she called back to Aiden, "Hurry up Aid, go brush your teeth and get ready and I'll take you to school."

Aiden shouted a quick 'okay' before he was off running back down the hall to his room to get dressed.

"Actually Lucy," Levy started as she stood up as well with her plate and utensils in hand, "I was gonna ask if you wouldn't mind taking me to the hospital by any chance?"

Lucy didn't miss her subtle-not-so-subtle glance at Natsu before she joined her at the sink, "Hospital? Are you okay?"

Levy smiled and shook her head, "No no, I'm fine. It's just a last minute appointment. The doctor just called me this morning. It's what woke me up actually."

The blonde frowned but shrugged, "Sure I don't mind driving you. When is it?"

"Now actually," Levy looked away sheepishly.

"Now?" Lucy's eyes widened, "Well shoot, I still need to get Aiden to school."

Natsu finally stood from the table and made his presence known, "Uhh, I don't mind taking him?" Both Lucy and Levy turned his way, staring at him as if he had grown a third head, "What?"

Levy recovered first, "He's got a point. Aiden knows the way, it's a short enough walk."

The blonde shrugged then smiled, "Thanks Natsu, if you wouldn't mind? I'll be back home shortly."

Natsu shrugged, "Yea it's no problem at all."

And with that the plans for that morning had been set. Aiden and Natsu were already at the front door getting their shoes on before the tinier pink haired boy was waving goodbye to his mother who was waiting for Levy to finish getting ready.

"I'll be waiting here for you then," Natsu smiled Lucy's way, causing her to blush before he quietly closed the front door behind him.

Lucy barely had enough time to settle her heart down before her roommate entered the room, ready for her doctor's appointment that morning, "Got everything?"

Levy nodded and the two girls were heading out to Lucy's car, "They didn't tell you why they randomly scheduled you an appointment so suddenly?"

"He said he'd explain it once I arrived," Levy shrugged, "Honestly, I just can't wait until this stupid thing is off. It makes reading tricky."

Lucy giggled sympathetically as she watched Levy tap the front of her neck brace with her knuckles in mute anger, "Soon enough."

The two girls were buckling their seat belts and the car had barely a chance to start up before Levy turned to her driver and asked, with a straight face, "So, how's Natsu in bed?"

* * *

"So you're mommy's friend?"

Natsu shrugged, "Yea, something like that. We've known each other for a long time."

"Really? I've never met you before though," Aiden frowned, kicking at a stone as the two boys made their way down the street.

"I've been kinda…" Natsu scratched his head in thought, trying to make up some excuse that wasn't half lame, "busy lately."

Aiden nodded and grunted in response.

The two pink haired boys spent the remainder of their walk to school in silence. Natsu felt slightly awkward at first, not knowing what to talk about, but thought that this quiet was alright for now. The younger boy had talked a mile a minute earlier that morning, so this was a nice change of pace.

The small boy's head jerked up once the school came into view, "I can go the rest of the way on my own, thanks for walking me today, Mr. Natsu."

He barely had time to send the boy off with a goodbye before he watched Aiden run off to the school. Natsu stuck around a few extra moments to watch the young boy make it all the way inside the school before he turned to go back to Lucy's house to wait for her.

Natsu really didn't know what he was to do now. Having her back in his life was causing all of these thoughts to hound him all over again; thoughts that had originally had him pushing Lucy out of his life the first time around.

He just hoped that, after all these years, he had matured enough to be able to stick around this time.

* * *

(present time)

Lucy's thought process was abruptly put to a halt at the sound of a loud noise coming from the other side of the door. As the lock to the door was opened, the blonde cringed at the onslaught of light that came streaming in as the large door creaked open fully. Unable to shield her face with her hands, Lucy tucked her head down into her naked chest, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Oh she's awake?"

The blonde felt her blood run cold at the sound of his voice. Lucy worked up the courage to open her eyes, slowly readjusting to the new brightness of the cage she had been left in. It was still too bright behind him, but the blonde could make out his strong silhouette despite this.

"Get away from me, Gajeel," Lucy growled, her voice sore from under usage. How long had she been tied up down here for?

Gajeel chuckled but there was no humor in it, "I really think you're not in the position to make demands, bunny." Lucy cringed at the sound of his heavy steps as he approached her and kneeled down, "But keep it up and I'll be sure to show your blue haired friend a good time."

Lucy gasped, eyes opening fully as she stared back at his murderous eyes, "Levy? What have you done with her?"

Ignoring her, he lifted his grimy hand up and Lucy gasped in disgust as he grazed her bare breasts, moving up further along her neck before he cupped her cheek, "Wouldn't use up your energy if I were you. Have you noticed yet? Has the dizziness set in yet?"

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "What?"

Gajeel abruptly let go of her cheek, reaching over to grab something below her. Lucy followed his hand and let out a gasp when the long black haired man tugged her wrist gently but not by her wrist itself, but by an IV tube that she hadn't noticed was hooked into her veins, "What is that?" Lucy gasped out.

The man chuckled, "Just draining your blood for you, bunny. Soon it'll be all gone and then," His mouth turned into a deadly, knowing smirk as he continued, "it'll be my blood pumping through your veins. Do you know what that means, little bunny?"

Lucy felt tears prick her eyes but she shook her head and found her voice, "No."

Gajeel leaned forward, capturing her lips in a searing and brutal kiss. Lucy squirmed to get out but was suddenly incapable of much movement at all as a wave of nausea hit her like a brick wall. The loss of blood, suddenly a very real thing in Lucy's consciousness.

"It means," the man groaned, licking his lips after tasting hers, "you'll be all mine."

* * *

 **A/N:** Oh my goodness, I'm so terribly sorry this took so long to write. Since I went back to Canada that week back in June, I've returned to Japan but it has become crunch time for me. I'm moving back to Canada more permanently in two weeks basically and this past month has been brutally stressful and busy.

But I promise you, I have no forgotten this story. Once I'm back home in Canada, August is fairly freed up and the updates for this will hopefully go back to normal. This is not writer's block, etc. I just haven't found the time to dedicate to writing this out is all.

I hope this chapter isn't crap. Haha R&R!


	7. Mates

**WARNING:** This chapter is faithful to the M rating. Just saying…

(Also, I hope the time jumps make sense…please let me know if it's confusing at all!)

* * *

(20 hours earlier)

 _Lucy felt out of breath as she gripped her purse tighter and ran through the streets of town. Her lungs burned for air but her mind was stuck on one thing only and that was to run as fast as her feet could carry her. She wished she had thought ahead and actually chosen proper running shoes but thinking back on it, Lucy was sure the last thing on her mind that morning was that a terrifying vampiric murderer would be on her tail._

 _It was supposed to be an easy trip to the hospital and yet things had turned sour like they had a bad habit of doing as of late. The blonde had sat patiently for Levy in the waiting room of the city's hospital. It had been a quick in and out appointment just checking on the status of her neck brace and other injuries she had still to endure. But it had been on their way out the front doors to Lucy's car where things went bad._

 _Lucy cursed her inattentiveness because now it had both her and Levy off running somewhere to God only knew where. The blonde had lost track of where Levy even really was; so focused on the sound of his feet drawing too close behind her to notice or care at this point, sadly enough. She prayed to every god that her friend was somewhere safe and out of harms' way. Harm being the six foot, long black haired vampire on her tail. Once her own safety was secured could she begin to worry about her blue haired roommate so for now, Lucy ignored her guilty conscience and sped up and focused on not being a traditional horror film blonde bimbo who trips at the last and most inconvenient second._

 _Lucy turned a sharp corner, hoping this would gain her the upper hand, but came to an immediate stop once she faced the tall brick wall in front of her. Her heart filled with dread and panic._

 _She made another flip up, she thought, as the sound of the steps behind her neared and came to a slow stop a few feet behind her._

" _It's the end of the road, bunny."_

 _Lucy felt her world go black._

* * *

(present)

It was cold.

It was dark and wet and cold.

The quiet _drip, drop_ of water from the ceiling was all Lucy could find herself focusing on in the quiet, dark solitude of her cell. The rope around her ankles and wrists had officially cut off her circulation and rubbed her joints raw, making her hands and feet cold to the touch. A few fingers were turning a light white color but Lucy knew it had more to do with the amount of blood loss than the restraints cutting her blood off.

Lucy grunted out in pain when her nerves twitched which resulted in her leg jerking in motion and her muscles to ache in pain at the abrupt movement. How long had she been here?

The blonde rolled her head to the side, the strength to hold it up having long left her, in order to get a better look at the puddle of blood to her side. The dark red liquid was darker than even within the room she was in. What little light that crept through under the door reflected over the shimmering liquid as it drained out of her body.

It wouldn't be much longer now, she thought in defeat, and then _he_ would come to claim her.

Her eyes slowly shut. Her mind and heart unable to process anything anymore.

Lucy had struggled at first, fought for her freedom. Believer her, she had tried. It wasn't as if this quiet, defeated girl had accepted her fate so resolutely. But not so distant memories of red eyes, long black hair and fists caked with her own blood came back to her. Lucy grunted, opening and closing her jaw once more and wincing at the pain. She was sure she wasn't a pretty sight to look at. Every part of her body ached from Gajeel's treatment.

If anything though, it was the silence that got to Lucy the most. Pain could be handled, forgotten, removed, compartmentalized and tossed aside. Her brain had long ago done her the favor of turning off for her. But it was in the silence that Lucy found real terror and defeat. The silence she couldn't escape from. She couldn't prevent her mind wandered to a million and one thoughts; from the bleak to the hopeful. But especially to Natsu.

Natsu, Lucy whimpered at the thought.

She was sure a day or two had to have gone by but honestly, she couldn't really know for sure. How long did it take for blood to drain from a body entirely? She was sure the pink haired man had noticed her absence. Natsu had told her he'd wait for her return after dropping off Aiden at school. So if she and Levy hadn't returned after some time, she was sure the man would notice and worry.

Then there was Aiden. The boy had to have been worried that his mother was gone. She hoped Natsu was at least there to comfort him. Lucy knew enough time had passed and yet she still found herself in this hell hole, only god knew where. What if they couldn't find her in time? Her thoughts traveled to Levy as well. Had the girl managed to get away safely? Lucy knew that ultimately, she was Gajeel's target for whatever his weird revenge, power hungry scheme was.

However, Lucy's thoughts were jolted at the familiar sound of the door's locks turning and the thick door sliding open to reveal the bane of her existence.

"Gajeel," she spat out.

The man sent her a look before a smirk tore his features. Ignoring her glare, he strolled into the cell. Unfolding his arms from across his chest, Gajeel kneeled down, reaching out to grab her wrist. Lucy usually fought him tooth and nail at this point but it was a sign of the extent of her blood loss that she hardly moved at all anymore. After a few more seconds, the man grunted in approval, "It's finally time, bunny."

Lucy whimpered at the feel of the IV being roughly pulled out of her wrist without warning. Before she could reply, the taste of blood entered her mouth. Opening her eyes with a jolt, Gajeel grabbed the back of her head with his free hand to prevent her from moving away as he pushed his wrist into her face, Lucy had no choice but to feel the vampire's blood enter her system. Panic hit her like a ton of bricks as the girl gathered up any strength she had left to twist and turn out of Gajeel's grip but the vampire quickly over powered her, pushing her down to the ground and knocking the wind out of her, "Stay still bitch or this'll only get worse for you."

Lucy whimpered but felt her body waiver, eyes flicker shut as her dry and greedy throat betrayed her, slurping up the man's blood eagerly. Tears pricked the back of her eyes as Lucy felt her eyes close under the weight of it all; her heart breaking with each swallow.

The only sense o solace Lucy found was imagining a pair of strong, warm arms around her waist and the feel of soft pink, flowing locks through her fingers as Gajeel's blood began filling her up and replacing the blood he had selfishly taken from her in order to do so.

* * *

Natsu was running.

The scent was weak but if he wasted any more time than he already had, it would be gone all together, the half demon thought as he ran as fast as he could. It had been quite the past day or so; his heart couldn't quite take any more at this point.

The memory of stumbling around Lucy's place until Levy arrived, panicked and out of breathe mumbling something about a red eyed monster who was after Lucy still haunted Natsu. It had been almost surreal and yet he should have seen it coming. Without warning, he had calmly told Levy to stay behind, assuring her that he would do anything it took to bring Lucy back safe and sound. Once the young woman understood, Natsu had bolted out the front door and began the painstakingly slow search for any remains of Lucy or Gajeel's scent to track the pair down.

Natsu growled, pissed off more at himself than anyone else. It was his stupidity and naivety that had allowed this to happen and now Lucy was off somewhere probably scared out of her mind or worse…

He shook his head, taking another quick sniff before switching gears. Natsu was on the hunt and if he had any say in it, his prey was going to be absolutely unrecognizable when he got his hands on the vampire. Pure, unadulterated rage swam through his veins at the thought of Gajeel touching what was his.

So that was where he found himself. Slow on the trail but after searching throughout the city, Natsu had eventually picked up on the blonde's scent after backtracking from the hospital. It had almost been too much for Natsu once he had found her smell though; fear tightly woven in with her scent. It had broken his heart.

Before filling it with rage towards the cause of all of this.

Gajeel was going to pay.

Natsu just hoped he wasn't too late.

* * *

Lucy felt herself drifting to and from consciousness. The taste of blood on her lips seemed to be giving her a kind of life she thought she had lost all together. Gajeel leaned over her, his knees crushing her legs down, preventing her from trying anything again as he pushed his forearm further into her face as if it would make her drink faster.

The blonde felt what little fight left she had in her leave her system, only to be replaced with this man's blood. She knew what was going on and yet she was absolutely powerless to put any stop to it. Tears continued to streak her cheeks as her lips betrayed her, greedily slurping up whatever Gajeel gave her.

"That's a good bunny," Gajeel mocked above her, "drink it all up."

But before Lucy could even open her eyes, Gajeel's wrist was off of her mouth. Lucy immediately felt cold as the heat Gajeel's body was providing her was ripped off of her, his weight gone. Lucy tried her best to open her eyes, fearing the worst. Her mouth embarrassingly hungry for more of that crimson liquid, the blonde whimpered, ashamed of herself.

Opening her eyes though, Lucy quickly discovered that there were other things more important than her current hunger as she noticed another shadowed figure standing above what she could only guess was Gajeel, nearly passed out on the ground as his foot came down hard upon Gajeel's chest. The black haired vampire groaned out, his breath wheezing from the direct contact against his lungs.

Her heart stopped as the stranger took to kicking Gajeel in the gut this time, using their heel to pile drive into the side of his stomach. Lucy cringed and tried to lift herself up the best she could with her wrists still very much tied together. Her senses only barely seemed to function at this point which left her feeling terrified and helpless as she struggled to sit up and cover her nude self. The best she could manage was crawling pathetically into the corner of the room before the new figure would even notice her. The sounds of the two men struggling with one another forced Lucy to huddle in on herself. She tucked her head down between her legs, wishing she could wrap her arms around herself but being unable to move them as they were still very much tied together behind her back. Shutting her mind off once more, Lucy remained in that position until the sounds slowly faded into heavy breathing. Lucy didn't know which was more terrifying: the fact that Gajeel was no longer making any sound at all or that she was now left alone with this deadly stranger.

Before she could lift her head to check though, a voice called out to her.

"Lucy?"

Her heart stopped as her head jolted up, looking back at the now very familiar figure that stood before her. Glancing down at Gajeel, who was currently passed out on the ground behind him. At the sound of his voice, suddenly the stranger didn't seem so strange after all, "Natsu?" Lucy was startled at how dry and rough her voice sounded, "is that you?"

The man quickly rushed to her, dropping to his knees and reaching out hesitantly to her body. His wide and concerned eyes were scanning over her and Lucy tried her best to ignore the blood that covered his hands. But before she could say anything more, Natsu's eyes were back on hers, "Luce, are you…I'm so sorry, I…fuck."

Lucy gulped and forced back tears at the amount of pain in his voice as wave after wave of relief washed over her from his presence. She sat up properly, ignoring her nakedness entirely in order to gain the boy's attention, "Natsu, could you…?" With her chin, Lucy gestured behind her to her arms which were still very much tied up behind her back.

Natsu quickly understand and bent down behind her to gently nip at the rope with his teeth, effectively tearing it apart enough for him to tug it apart and unravel it from around her wrists. The blonde felt a wave of relief and pain at being able to move her arms once more. But as she went to rub at the raw skin around her wrists, Lucy felt a wave of pain crash over her; her shoulders were aching from finally being able to move after such a long time. Natsu sent her a sympathetic glance after he worked off the rope that tied her ankles up as well, having noticed her stiffen up, "Lucy," he breathed out, reaching towards her and gripping her shoulders gently, kneeding a thumb into each stiff muscle in hopes of working out any kinks and soreness.

It was right then and there with the proximity of his hands near her face, that Lucy felt more than just the pleasure of having her muscles massaged. This was an entirely different sensation. Pure desire riddled her every pore and it was so sudden that Lucy squeezed her eyes tight in surprise, breathing heavily.

Licking her lips, Lucy suddenly tasted the leftover iron in her mouth and realized she needed more. It was this realization that made her glance to her side, catching sight of the source of her desire: Natsu's hands which were still very much covered in splashes of Gajeel's blood. The blonde zoned in on it, opening her mouth just enough to let her tongue explore.

Upon seeing her tongue dart out and gently swipe at his left wrist, Natsu's eyes widened, "Lucy, stop! What are you doing?"

It seemed to jar her enough to pull back and blink curiously. Her tongue still hovered in the air before her face, Lucy glanced up at Natsu before frowning, lowering her head in shame, "I don't know, I just…I need to taste it."

Natsu tried to follow what was happening, half worried over Lucy's physical welfare and half worried she had lost some of her mind while being locked up here, "Need to taste what…?"

"Blood," came Lucy's simple response and at that, a wave of understanding hit Natsu like a well-aimed punch to the face.

"He mated with you," Natsu thought aloud, while shaking his head in denial. No, she couldn't be or else she wouldn't still be needing more blood. Unless…

"He didn't finish," he concluded.

Glancing down at her again, Natsu caught Lucy's chin before her tongue reached his wrist again. He almost let go at the sound of her growl though, which only confirmed his suspicions. Natsu wouldn't claim to know everything about vampirism and mating seeing as he didn't receive an entirely full education growing up, but he knew that if properly and fully mated, the female wouldn't continue seeking out fulfillment; aka, desiring for more blood from her mate if the ritual was properly followed through. That meant that Gajeel hadn't been able to successfully mate with her entirely, meaning he had been on time.

Or had he?

When Natsu had kicked the door open, he hadn't wasted any time in scoping out the scene. All he needed to see was Gajeel on top of Lucy with his blood dropping down her throat and lips for Natsu to go agro on his ass and very nearly kill the vampire in a fit of instinctual rage.

Taking a moment to look around while he firmly held Lucy's chin even as she struggled, Natsu noticed the IV needle tossed aside and the dried up puddle of blood all around. Gajeel had at least successfully drained Lucy of her blood, much to Natsu's disgust and guilt; it almost left him nauseous just thinking about it.

But pushing away the guilt for now, Natsu turned back to Lucy. Just by smell alone, he could tell they had been in the process of completing the mating ceremony by having her drink Gajeel's blood. But what would happen if that ceremony was cut off short? Natsu had no idea. All he knew was he now had a very unsatisfied girl in his arms who was yearning for blood.

Not knowing what else to do, Natsu lifted up his free arm that wasn't currently holding Lucy down and nipped into the skin of his wrist with his elongated canines. Almost immediately, the sight of his own blood dripping down his forearm caught the attention of the blonde he still held. Her eyes widened as she licked her lips in hopeful anticipation. Natsu frowned but nodded in approval, "Go ahead, Luce," he whispered gently as he let go of her chin finally.

The blonde obviously wasn't in her right mind because she wouldn't have looked so eager. But the blonde wasted no more time and sat up straight away, grabbing onto his wrist possessively with both hands. Natsu watched as Lucy tugged at his arm, pulling it to her and cradled it as she licked away at his blood.

He gulped, fighting back the immediate lust that washed over him at the sight of her drinking his blood. His desire was overridden by his deep seeded worry over what any of this would mean for Lucy. Having the blood of two different vampires swirling around inside her veins was something unheard of; for Natsu it was anyways.

However, this was his only choice at the moment. Natsu at least knew what would happen to females if a mating ceremony was cut short, left unfinished: a slow and painful death by starvation. Unless the mate received enough blood to replace the blood that was drained, the female wouldn't live longer than a day or two.

With that in mind, Natsu took long deep breaths to calm himself as he watched the love of his life slurp greedily away from his wrist. His heart weighed down by guilt and fear of what would happen. But as the room filled with moans of pleasure and slurping sounds emitting from the blonde in front of him, Natsu felt a tear streak down his cheek in defeat as his heart broke.

This hadn't been how he wanted this to go.

At all.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Only thing I could think of while planning this sequel out and finally reaching this chapter was: gosh, they might hate me. Har har. Hope this turned out alright! Again, lemme know your thoughts and CONSTRUCTIVE criticisms.

ALSO! I'M MOVING BACK TO CANADA NEXT WEEK SO THERE WILL NOT BE A CHAPTER UPDATE NEXT WEEK. SORRY BUT TOO BUSY.

Next chapter will be up the following week, though!


	8. Magnetic

**WARNING:** This chapter contains graphic scenes, sex, and events that might upset readers. The rating for this story is M for a reason. I'm so so sorry that this chapter is happening.

* * *

Lucy felt the heat of Natsu's arms around her body without having to open her eyes. The familiar tingle his rough palms sent through her was enough to calm her nerves. Worries of why the pink haired demon was carrying her or where he was bringing her were far beyond the blonde's care, far too lethargic and exhausted. The small voice in the back of head head questioning why she felt this tired was brushed aside in favor of curling herself deeper into the warmth Natsu provided.

The movement must have notified the man of her consciousness because the raspy, baritone voice met the blonde's ears. Unfortunately, her lulled brain decided it was more important to appreciate the comforting vibrations she felt as she leaned against Natsu chest rather than actually understanding what said vibrating chest man could possibly be saying. That small voice was piping up again to tell her he might have been asking her a question with the gradual rising of his voice at the end of his inquiry but Lucy decided to continue on her in ignorance bliss.

And blissful it was, Lucy giggled lightly as the gentle tug of a smile pulled on her lips.

Back in reality, Natsu grimaced and hoisted the blonde up in order to tighten his grip on the giggling blonde. He was growing more and more worried each time Lucy came to. Natsu would ask her if she was alright and the blonde would usually respond in some weird fashion before quickly plummeting back into unconsciousness.

Natsu frowned.

It had been a difficult sight to see: Lucy pale, bruised and battered kneeling before him, his forearm tightly gripped in her hands as she sucked the red liquid that was oozing from his wrist. It had slowly broken his heart and yet he knew he had to push on in order to save her life at all. Worries over whether or not having two different types of blood circulating her veins were pushed to the side for now until Natsu was able to get her home and get in touch with anyone who might have any clue at all.

"So warm," Lucy mumbled against his shoulder.

Natsu fought back against the frustrated growl that was bubbling up his throat and gripped Lucy tighter as he picked up his pace.

* * *

"Oh my god is she okay?"

Natsu grimaced at the intensity of Levy's screech upon opening the front door, "She's fine enough, just lemme in before you wake everybody up."

The petite bluenette gulped but had half a mind to at least step back and allow the pink haired man to turn and guide himself and Lucy into the front door. Levy softly closed to door behind herself as she rushed to follow Natsu who was already making his way down the hallway, "Where's Aiden?"

"He's over at a friend of ours," Levy distractedly answered, pausing in the doorway of Lucy's bedroom to watch Natsu gently place her roommate on her bed before he covered her up in her duvet, "why is she naked...?"

The bluenette wanted to slap herself in the face at how stupid that was what came to mind first but Natsu's face only proved that something terrible occurred tonight. The swirl of questions that were sending her already overactive brain into chaos demanded to be answered.

Natsu, on the other hand, was less than willing to give out any answers until he knew Lucy was okay, "Where's a first aid kit or something?"

Levy frowned, eyebrows furrowing together as she sent the man a glare, "Excuse me?"

He took a deep breath to calm his temper before returning her glare, "Did I stutter?"

"Did I?" Levy growled right back, placing her hands upon her hips and effectively blocking the doorway, "Tell me what happened. I've been worried sick and she's naked and unconscious and you're a bloody mess and I need some answers, mister."

Levy didn't even have a chance to let out a gasp before Natsu had each of his hands gripping the frame of the door above her head. His body towered hers but it was not his intimidating height that terrified her, it was the red in his eyes...

...and the fangs that were sprouting from his mouth.

"What…" Levy fought for words, her hands moving in front of her in some lame attempt at protection, "What are you?"

Her terrified whisper should've had him backing off but Natsu's temper was flaring and out of control, the events of the past twenty four hours were finally catching up to him and he could practically feel his demonic other half pushing for control. Squeezing his eyes closed, Natsu fought to maintain the control over his senses, reminded him of all of his training that he had worked so hard through these past five years.

He felt his fangs soften into their usual canines before he opened his eyes again to see the petite girl before him backed up against the wall across from Lucy's door, unshed tears in her eyes, "Levy, I need your help. I need to get Lucy checked up and then, and only then, will I answer your questions. Got it?"

Levy fought back the gulp she had at the sound of his harsh and deep gravely voice before nodding and running down the hallway to the bathroom. Natsu finally let go of the door frame when he heard the girl opening the sink cabinet, turning back to look Lucy over. Deciding she needed some clothes, Natsu started searching for some throughout her dresser drawers, coming across a comfy pair of pajamas.

Levy quickly returned, the pair remaining deathly silent as they worked to patch the blonde up and get her dressed. Natsu gently tucked Lucy under the duvet, bringing it up to her chin before gently placing a kiss on her forehead. He fought against the urge to simply stay by her side until she fully came to but he was reminded of his promise to her roommate who was patiently waiting in quiet fear at the door way. Sighing, Natsu followed the bluenette out into the living room, already regretting this conversation before it even happened.

* * *

Levy sat there silently on the lazy boy chair, mesmerized with a small bit of fuzz on the carpet near her feet. Natsu, she knew, sat across from her on the far side of the couch, also silent but watching her thoughtfully, gauging her reaction. She took a deep breath before dragging her eyes back to the pink haired man, "So you're a...and that other monster, he...oh my god." Levy felt what little resolve she had left quickly dwindle down as she rested her head down into her hands in a desperate attempt to gather any remaining sanity.

Natsu sighed tiredly, "Yes, I'm a vampire Yes, Gajeel, that other 'monster', got to Lucy before I could. I'm sorry."

"What about Aiden?"

If the room hadn't been as quiet as it was, Natsu was positive that even his heightened senses would not have picked up the quiet whispered words of Levy's question, "Aiden? What about him?"

"He's yours right?"

Ah, he was beginning to see where she was taking this conversation, "To be honest, I'm not sure. He might be like me but…" he paused, leaning forward enough to rest his arms on his knees before him, "I'm not fully vampire, I do have a human side, thanks to my mother-It's a long story," Natsu interrupted himself the moment he noticed Levy raise her head back up curiously, "So Aiden could perfectly well be a human boy for all we know."

Levy sighed, filing that bit of new information away in her brain before pressing further, "So what happens now? Lucy and you are...mated?"

"For all intents and purposes, yes."

"What does that even mean?"

Natsu raked a hand through his hair before continuing, "It means, I don't know. Like I said, Gajeel got to her first so I don't know what that means for Lucy and who she's actually mated with," Levy was pushing him to say the words he desperately didn't want to say but he was a man of his word so when she opened her mouth and asked the question he knew she would, his heart clenched.

"So does that mean she could be mated with that...th-that monster?"

His heart broke.

* * *

"What a fucking mess you've made," Gray wiped a hand down his face in absolute exasperation. When Natsu had found him and dragged him back to Lucy's place, the dark haired vampire had no idea what his friend had gotten himself into. But the seriousness surrounding the younger vampire had been convincing enough for Gray to shut up and follow. Now having been caught up in the events of the past day or so, he knew he regretted being pulled into this mess of a situation so willingly, "it's unheard of!"

"Well it fucking happened fuck face," Natsu growled frustratedly, "She was mated and has both of our blood in her veins. What the fuck does it mean for her? What's going to happen to her, Gray?"

"How the fuck should I know, dick wad?" Gray felt his irritation rise as Natsu made another lap of the living room with all of his pacing, "I've never heard of this even happening let alone a solution. You fucked up! For all we know, she could answer to both of you like she would any mate."

Natsu froze, "Would she…?"

Gray sighed, "We won't know until she wakes up. She's still asleep right?"

"I just checked up on her," Levy's voice carried into the room as she entered, "still just as out cold as she was when Natsu brought her back," the girl paused, glancing over at Gray with a loaded stare before continuing on her way to the kitchen.

It wasn't until the dark haired vampire heard cupboard doors opening and closing that Gray turned to Natsu and whispered, "She's taking this all rather well."

Natsu bit back a smirk, "Well, she kinda has to, having your ugly face in proximity would push anyone over the edge so I give her kudos for effort."

Gray refused to rise to the bait, deciding to use his brain for wiser things like coming up with a solution for Lucy's predicament. His heart went out to the blonde girl; despite his best intentions, he had grown quite fond of the spunky blonde, "While we're stuck waiting around for her to wake up, I think it might be best that I give _him_ a visit."

The pink haired man paused, turning to Gray with a raised eyebrow, "Him?" he watched as understanding covered Natsu's face, "But he hasn't exactly been seen or heard from in centuries, what makes you think you can track him down?"

Gray shrugged nonchalantly, sending a smirk Natsu's way, "I have my ways. What you can do while I'm gone is watch over Lucy and make sure Gajeel doesn't show his face around here until we know for sure who she's mated with."

"You don't have to fucking tell me what I should or shouldn't do," Natsu growled, "I won't leave her side."

Gray stood, rolling his shoulders before glancing at Natsu over his shoulder as he made his way to the front door, "I'll be back as soon as I can with information."

And with that, he was gone. Natsu felt his shoulders relax at the lack of stupid in the room. The pink haired man looked over just in time for Levy to pop out of the kitchen, a plate and dish rag in her hand as she dried it, "He left?"

Natsu nodded, stretching before heading back to Lucy's room.

"Did you guys figure anything out?"

"He's going to track down an old friend of ours for some answers," he called back.

Levy decided she was done asking questions, much to Natsu's relief. He went to enter the blonde's room but paused at the doorway, eyes widening when he looked over to her side of the bed where he and Levy had left Lucy to sleep.

She was no where to be seen.

* * *

It was magnetic.

The alluring pull could only be described as such. Her eyes half lidded, her brain barely even registering, Lucy found her feet carrying her to some far off call, some distant thrum that was incessantly tugging her along the cold cement sidewalk in the middle of the night. Goosebumps covered her bare skin, her creamy legs that were barely covered by the flimsy pair of pajama shorts she doesn't remember putting on. Her arms and shoulders were bare, a small spaghetti strap tank top was all she wore. But despite the crisp evening she shivered to, Lucy obediently followed the magnetic pull that refused to be ignored.

Eventually, the instinctually tug had her walking the blocks it took to reach a forested park she and Aiden once visited in some distant memory Lucy couldn't recall. Her feet came to a stop and she waited, for what she wasn't even quite sure herself.

"Good girl."

It was at the sound of his voice that Lucy finally sighed in relief, feeling the incessant tugging on her spirit come to an end as she reached her destination, "Gajeel."

And with that, his mouth descended upon hers.

* * *

Natsu found himself running down the street again. At least this time, her scent was so much easier to pick up on. But despite that nice change, Natsu knew that now that his blood was running through her veins, he could have pulled on that to call for his mate. The almost spiritual bond that was created between newly formed mates wasn't as strong as its eventual potential, but it was strong enough to utilize right from the get go.

And it was with this knowledge that he both calmed himself with and also realized something just as bone chilling: Gajeel could utilize it just as much as he, himself, could.

Natsu grimaced as he ran a few more blocks, feeling his blood run cold and his heartbeat increase more and more with worry each and every time his feet hit and pushed off of the ground below him.

Luckily it wasn't much longer before he found himself coming to a stop at an abandoned, forested park in the middle of the night. But instead of finding his mate, safe from harm, he found a sight that would be burned into his very soul for the rest of his practically immortal life: Lucy standing before a very hungry looking Gajeel, bent before her with her shirt clearly pushed up and his face pushed up against her breasts, having himself a meal.

The vampire must have become aware of Natsu's presence as he opened one eye and made eye contact with the pink haired demon. Removing his mouth with an overly sexual 'pop'-and, despite Natsu's broken heart, the sound of a disappointed sigh escaping Lucy's lips-as Gajeel came to a stand. Gripping her arms, Gajeel gently pushed her back some, catching Lucy's attention.

Natsu's eyes widened a tad more as he watched Lucy glance up and notice Gajeel's distractedness. Coming to, she finally turned to look behind her to see whatever it was that had taken Gajeel's attention away from her and met Natsu's eyes with her own. He instantly noticed the glazed over look that clouded her normally warm, chocolate eyes. Slow recognition flooded her gaze as her lips tugged upwards into a gentle smile. Lucy turned towards him as Gajeel let her arms go, making her way over to the pink haired vampire.

Natsu stood paralyzed, rooted to his spot, as he watched Lucy make her way towards him. He ignored the growing smirk plastered to Gajeel's face above Lucy's shoulder and only moved when the blonde reached a hand out towards him, a gentle call. Before he knew what he was doing, Natsu was reaching his own hand out and grasped her smaller one and was being tugged along back towards where Gajeel stood along the outskirts of the forest.

The pink haired demon's human half was screaming in protest as he watched Lucy back into Gajeel's broad chest, watched as the other vampire was dipping his head low enough to place gentle kisses along her shoulder and up her neck to her earlobe where he nibbled it and pulled the most glorious soft moans from her pale lips.

It was when Lucy tugged on their interlocked hand and placed it on her bare breast that Natsu's humanity shut off. His mate was commending him and his demonic side was wanting to answer her call as he bent down and covered Lucy's other bare nipple within his mouth, his hand that she still covered with her own, squeezing the other tit.

The sounds Lucy let out as the two vampires tasted her skin was music to their ears as the three of them let themselves go, answering the call of their deepest instinctual desires. Natsu kneeled down in front of the blonde, kissing his way down her flat stomach just as Gajeel reached around her and gripped the breast his mouth had just left behind. Lucy only moaned in ecstasy.

With gentle hands, Natsu reached the waistband of the pajama shorts he had, only hours ago, put on. Giving a tug, the material stretched around her round hips as Natsu pulled them down to her ankles. Lucy quickly kicked them away, finding herself already naked before these two men.

Gajeel's hands were busy massaging her breasts and tweaking her already hard nipples as his mouth left marks across the skin of her neck and collarbone. Just as he pinched a nipple, a wave of heat overcame her and Lucy found herself rolling her hips back, pushing her bum back into Gajeel's hips. She gasped when she came into contact with his rock hard dick hidden away by his tightening pants.

Natsu, not to be outdone, gripped the blonde's hips and pulled her close to his mouth, running his tongue along the inside of her left thigh. Lucy gasped out loud, calling Natsu's name out breathily as he made his way up her legs, placing gentle kisses and licks and risking a bite or two up to her core.

Which was aching at this point.

The pink haired man, having quite the view already of her throbbing pussy, watched in fascination as Lucy spread her legs out further, enveloping him in a stronger whiff of her addicting smell. His mouth was watering so it was no surprise to anyone when he finally let go and ran his tongue along her core, wiping up only some of the juices that were currently dripping down her legs temptingly.

Lucy lost it, her legs buckling, only being held up by Natsu's tight grip on her hips, as her head leaned back onto Gajeel's shoulder, "Mmmm, Natsu…"

From behind her, Gajeel growled, wanting to be the object of her full attention once more, he let go of one of her breasts and pulled it back behind her, dipping it low and resting it on her gorgeous ass. Giving a cheek a squeeze, the added sensation of having her tit squeeze as well, send Lucy deeper into his broad chest, a breathy moan leaving her lips. Her mouth wide open and her eyes shut tight, Gajeel covered his fingers in his saliva before dipping a finger between her butt cheeks, rubbing the outer ring of her anus and catching her attention instantly.

The almost sudden intrusion of Gajeel's digit into her butt caught Lucy completely off guard. Feeling herself being stretched back there was such an odd experience that she had been so distracted from whatever it was Natsu had planned between her legs. Her attention was suddenly dragged back to the said pink haired man was one of his own digits slid into her dripping wet pussy, forcing another gasp out of her at the added penetration. Her mind was completely absorbed in the back and forth fingerings both boys were giving her from the front and back that she couldn't even hold back the almost embarrassingly loud sounds that were escaping her mouth.

Quickly, one finger in each hole became two as Natsu finally stood up and pulled Lucy into a mind numbingly amazing kiss. His tongue darted out, intruding her mouth just as aggressively as their fingers were to other other openings. It was too much; her sensations on overload. Her whimpers and groans were no longer coherent so it was a wonder how either Natsu or Gajeel put two and two together to answer her desires that she wished to voice.

Lucy felt their fingers finally leave her, leaving an almost hollow feeling behind as they took time shucking their pants off and positioned their throbbing cocks at her entrances. Her breath caught in anticipation as she felt their tips slowly push beyond her muscles. Her muscles tightened in retaliation at the pain that shot through her as they pushed forward, filling her completely, no time for pausing. Their desperation even more than her own at finding an end to this deep call they all felt; this hunger that seemed to only be quenched by the other two.

Natsu ghosted a kiss on her open lips, whispering her name so gently before the two men began to move. Lucy reached out and grabbed Natsu's shoulders before her, her nails digging into his skin and drawing blood almost instantly at the sensation of them both setting their own rhythm.

Unfortunately for Lucy, they differed almost entirely but Lucy was in no place to complain as she allowed herself to be a vehicle for the two men to reach their desired climax. As Natsu pulled out, Gajeel was pushing in.

In and out, in and out. Lucy felt the seesawing motion, painfully aware of her breasts bouncing madly in front of her. Natsu must have been drawn to them as well because his mouth was soon giving her open mouthed kisses all over them. Added with Gajeel's hot breath along her shoulder and his teeth digging into her collarbone here and there, Lucy gripped onto Natsu's shoulders as an anchor as she leaned back into Gajeel's grip and road the pleasure out.

Eventually the two men reached each of their ends, cumming at different times and pulling out almost too soon for Lucy's taste. Feeling a set of hands gripping her hips, Lucy was gently carried down to the ground; her legs completely useless after such an aggressive treatment between them. Her pussy was tender and her ass was an entirely other story but she chose to lay back, which turned out to be Gajeel's lap. Her legs were spread open and Natsu was once again between her thighs, his tongue bringing her to her own finish.

Their juices, in some animalistic mixture, dripped down her legs and ass cheeks, making a huge mess. But the three made no move to clean themselves up, only wrapping themselves around each other in satiated blissful sleep.

With Lucy tucked in the middle and two pairs of strong arms wrapped around her nude form, the blonde tumbled into dream land without another thought.

* * *

 **Author's Note** : One, I'm sorry for taking a month to update (life shit happened and I won't bring it up but it kept me from wanting to write) and two, I'm sorry this chapter even happened BUT it was in my head even before this sequel was started so this has been part of the plan from the beginning and it finally came to fruition.

I'm ready and waiting for my flogging.

Also, editing? I can't even. Sue me rn. I dare you.

Also also...this story IS and WILL BE Nalu. I don't want reviews/complaints about Gajeel x Lucy. Just don't. Pretty please?

R&R?


	9. Picking up the Pieces

To say that Lucy felt like death had run her over a couple of times was a small exeragation to the bruised and battered feeling she felt all over her body, culminating between her legs where she felt tender and beaten. With a groan, Lucy slowly opened her eyes, immediately shutting them again when the bright sun glared in her open eyes. As wakefulness tugged on her senses, Lucy became gradually more and more aware of the tangled limbs around her. Her legs were entwined with more than one pair of legs and her upper body was nearly being pulled in opposite directions by multiple pairs of arms. Her confusion mutated into a deep seeded fear when she realized that the owners of said limbs as well as her own body were butt naked and they were very much outdoors if the feeling of dewy, cool grass below her back hinted at anything.

What in the world happened last night?

Brief flashes and glimpses of heated moments and bursts of pleasure swirled her mind.

Her blood ran cold.

A groan in front of her caught her attention and forced Lucy to open her eyes again, this attempt proving more successful as her lids remained open, pupils adjusting to the early morning light. Before her was a sleeping Natsu, face tucked close to her own, his deep breathing hinting at his deep slumber. Despite memories of last night she wished could be left forgotten, the tender and calm face of the man she loved sleeping gently before her warmed her heart and brought a small smile to her face.

As gently as she could, not wanting to ruin the moment and wake Natsu from his slumber, she reached a hand out, untangling it from the other limbs, and placed it delicately on his cheek. Rubbing her thumb along his cheekbone, she watched with a glowing pride as Natsu answered her touch almost subconsciously and nudged her hand to deepen the contact.

Unfortunately, the couple's tender moment came to an end as quickly as it had started when Lucy let out a squeak of surprise as Gajeel tightened his arms around the blonde and effectively pulled her away from Natsu and snug against his broad chest, signaling his awakening. Nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck and shoulder, Lucy felt shivers up her spine at the contact.

The loss of the blonde was enough to pull her pink haired companion from his own slumber. His eyes snapped open and before she could cringe anymore at Gajeel's tender touches, Natsu was up on his knees, hands wrapped around Lucy's forearms, tugging her up with him as he stood up fully. Successfully rescuing her from the long haired vampire's grip, Natsu wasted no time pulling Lucy close to his, wrapping his arms protectively around her as he settled into a deathly growl over Lucy's bare shoulder, "Don't you fucking touch her again you worthless piece of shit. I should-"

"You should what?" Gajeel interrupted. With her face buried deep into Natsu's shoulder, Lucy couldn't see but just from where Gajeel's voice was coming from, she could tell he was standing as well, only a short distance away from the pair, "Come off it, you bastard. She answered the call, it's all fucking natural what we did last night so don't go pulling that higher than fucking thou shit on me when you known perfectly fucking well that that little whore of yours wanted everything that happened last night."

Natsu's growl exploded as he shoved Lucy behind him aggressively before plunging fist first into a tussle with the overbearing vampire. Lucy shrieked as she fell to the grass from the force of Natsu's shove. As she righted herself though, she turned back to the fight just in time to watch Gajeel grip Natsu's head and snap his forehead, headbutting the pink haired vampire and knocking him to the ground.

She gasped but watched as Natsu recovered quickly, pushing his foot out and twisting it with enough force to trip up Gajeel. Both of the vampires on their naked behinds, the fight continued on the grass as Natsu leapt onto him and took out his rage with a number of fists to Gajeel's face.

Gajeel refused to fall again, using his back to push his body up against Natsu's on top of him, using the momentum to knock Natsu off balance and switch their positions. Blood oozing down his face and down his chin and neck, Gajeel sent a walloping punch to Natsu's jaw. Spitting out some blood that had entered his mouth, Gajeel lifted both of his hands above his head, clasping them and pile driving Natsu directly into his face.

Lucy's hands raced to her face as she gasped out loud, terror racking her body as she watched Gajeel knock Natsu out cold. With the pink haired man effectively passed out, Gajeel went to stand up finally, spitting some more blood from his lips before turning towards Lucy, "I'll be seeing you again, bitch."

The blonde trembled but refrained from moving, watching the long haired man collect and put on his clothing again before taking off. Once he was long gone, Lucy crawled over to Natsu's body. Her legs were jelly and her eyes were stinging with tears as she reached his side, "Natsu, Natsu…" she whimpered, a sob wracking her body as she reached out and tried to rub away the blood from his face.

His face scrunched up in pain at the contact but his familiar charcoal black eyes slowly opened, dizzying him and causing him to cough up some blood, "Lucy," he grunted.

Lucy sobbed and bent down, throwing her body down onto his chest as she cried. The entirety of last night and the violent confrontation she just witnessed between Natsu and Gajeel had finally pushed her over the top, tears streaking her cheeks and soaking Natsu's chest as she let it all out.

Natsu only grunted, reaching an arm out stiffly and rubbed her back as he laid back, listening in mute anger to the sobs of a heartbroken blonde.

* * *

Levy nudged the bedroom door open with her hip, her hands busy holding onto a small tray of food and a warm cup of tea. The small blue haired girl made her way into Lucy's bedroom and gently placed the food tray on her roommate's bedside table with a sigh. Levy brushed her skirt below her as she sat on her friend's bedside, looking over to the blonde who was buried below a mountain of blankets, hidden from view, "Lucy? I brought you some tea, have a sip would you?"

She was met with continuing silence.

Levy sighed sadly and tried her best to not let this break her heart even more. It had taken everything in her to not run out the door alongside Natsu last night when they discovered that Lucy had disappeared right from under their nose. Being left in the dark once more when the pair of them had returned late this morning was something Levy couldn't stand it anymore. But pushing for answers to her questions was like punching a brick wall.

Lucy had been near deathly silent since she returned home. Natsu had disappeared to God only knows where. Even Aiden was still over at their friend, Erza's home since yesterday. Levy felt the ache of loneliness and frustration of being left in the dark and alone with her thoughts and questions. She wanted to help and yet had no idea what had occurred last night to put her friend in such a depressing state, "Lucy, please…"

The blonde's response was merel to grip tighter on her blanket and bury herself deeper into her bed. This only seemed to force the bluenette to snap as she stood up abruptly, "You know what? Be that way. Leave me hanging. I want to help Lucy, but I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing! Call be a bitch but god dammit Lucy, what can I do?" When no response came, Levy felt her eyes sting from tears that wanted to fall as her heart broke all over again, "Well, Aiden needs to be picked up so I guess I'll go grab him. Have fun trying to explain this all to him because I can't do this anymore, Luce. I can't."

And with that, Levy left the bedroom feeling useless and defeated.

* * *

Gray felt his nose physically jerk back at the smell that washed over him as he pushed through the entrance of some dingy back door bar in the deep, recesses of a small town. The only sense of relief the dark haired vampire felt was that amongst the smell of decay and sweat that stung his nostrils was the smell of the man he'd been hunting down for the past almost twenty four hours.

He pushed forward, eyes searching the crowded pub of filled up bar stools and stumbling drunkards before finding the man in question. He was sure he smelt Gray before he arrived as he watched the hooded man in the corner slightly turn his way as he approached, taking the seat across from his target, "You are one tough guy to track down, you know that?"

The hooded man before Gray chuckled almost embarrassingly before raising his hands to tug his hood, pulling it off of his head. The dim light of the bar was enough to glare across the hooded man's mop of deep blue hair but it was the infamous tattooed insignia across his cheek that reaffirmed that Gray had found his man, "I make sure of it."

Despite the circumstances, Gray still felt a smile tug his lips, "It's been awhile, Jellal."

"That is has," Jellal smirked but furrowed his brow before continuing, "But I doubt this is a simple friendly visit?"

The darker haired man sighed, raking a hand through his hair, "You got that right. I'm here for a certain pink haired idiot who's got himself in a mess."

"Natsu?"

"Yea, the idiot's got himself a mate."

Jellal frowned, taking in Gray's negative tone of voice and the tension building up in the boy's frame, "I assume this isn't a celebratory occasion, though?"

Gray sighed, "Far from it," he started, "Neither of us have ever heard of this happening but...the girl he hooked up with, well...she's not exclusively Natsu's alone."

"I'm not following."

"Long story short, Natsu's blood isn't the only blood running through her veins. Gajeel got to her first."

Jellal's eyes widened, "Gajeel? Wait, so you're saying that Natsu and Gajeel are both mated to this girl? How did this happen?"

Gray exasperatedly repeated the facts that he knew, going over the details and filling in his old friend on the predicament their Natsu found himself in, "So currently, this human girl has two sets of vampire blood running through her veins and neither of us know what this means for her or either Natsu or Gajeel."

Jellal remained silent, processing everything the younger vampire was telling him. He had to hand it to Natsu, although the boy had been nearly as missing in action as he, himself, had been, the pink haired boy had a certain knack for screwing himself over and getting himself into the messiest of situations. He had known both Gray and Natsu for centuries now and knew that the youngest of them, Natsu, had a history of drama and mishappenings, but that was beyond the matter at hand, "Fortunately, I have heard of rare cases like this."

Gray didn't even attempt to hide away his relief, "You have?"

Jellal nodded, "Yes, on occasion, I have heard of instances where vampires have paired up or grouped together to share a mate. It isn't common, as you are well aware, due to the greediness that eventually overcomes us when it comes to mating, but it is a reasonable option for many. That being said, I assume Natsu and Gajeel would rather not share?"

"That's putting it mildly," Gray grimaced, "Is there a way to reverse it?"

"There is," Jellal continued, "Gray, let me ask you, how does any mated pair end their connection?"

"It's pretty near impossible," the younger vampire frowned in thought, "usually the best and only way really is to…" his eyes widened, picking up where Jellal was going with this train of questioning, "Wait, that can't be...there has to be another way!"

Jellal frowned, "If you find it, let me know."

Gray slammed his fist against the table before them in a fit of rage, his blood spiralling and his temper rising along with the red of his eyes. What Jellal was insinuating as a solution was something that had filled Gray's mind with dread. His angry reaction was only confirmation that Gray's thoughts had been right in the end, "So you're saying...one of them would have to…"

Jellal's frown deepened in sympathy as he nodded grimly, "Unfortunately, one of them would have to die."

Death, Gray thought, the only logical solution to end the deep seeded connection that was created from a mating ceremony.

Natsu was not going to be happy.

* * *

Lucy moaned, feeling the need to ask for yet another blanket to cover her up, protect her from the bone chilling cold that wracked her body. The blonde knew it was more than just being physically cold but the urge to leave her bed and try other ways of scrubbing off the night's events from her skin and soul were far less pleasant. She didn't want to leave her cocoon.

She knew she was being immature, selfish, and idiotic. Lucy was running away from the issue and she knew that Levy's angry outburst was the least of what she deserved. She almost wished her blue haired roommate had acted out her rage and slap the blonde across the face as a wake up call from this hell her brain kept circling.

It was with this in mind that Lucy finally pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her rage motivating her movement, Lucy took in a breath of fresh air, having been under the covers since she had showered and dressed herself after returning home with Natsu that morning. It was almost instantaneous how much energy that deep breath gave her. The blonde shoved the mountain of blankets off her legs before she pushed herself off the bed, standing on her own two feet once more.

Lucy gave her body a quick stretch before deciding it was time to go and find her best friend and apologize. The blonde had finally reached her limit in terms of this depressing rut she found herself in. But after a quick search around the house, Lucy found no sign of either her roommate or Natsu. It was only after realizing she was home alone that she remembered Levy calling out that she was going to pick up Aiden from wherever it was he had been. A small part of her was grateful for Levy's quick thinking and protecting Aiden when his own mother was no where near mentally stable enough to be there for him. But another part of her feared for his return. He would almost immediately know something was up; she hated his astuteness. Was she going to be ready and willing to answer the millions of questions she knew the five year old boy was going to badger her with?

Just as she began to panic over it all, the front door cracked open and gained her attention. She whirled around to find said roommate and son entering. Levy blinked in surprise at seeing her roommate up and about but it was Aiden's shouting that gained both girls' attention, "Mom, mom!"

The pink haired little boy rushed at her, tossing his overnight bag and shoes off to the side before catapulting himself into Lucy's arms. The blonde had half a mind to stabilize herself before the boy jumped into her but she quickly squeezed him tightly back, relishing in the sensation of hugging her son and enjoying the familiar smells and feelings he brought with him. Ironically, he was and had always been her anchor throughout these past years without Natsu around and she had forgotten all of that in the thick of is all, "Aiden, I missed you."

"I missed you too, mommy," Aiden mumbled into her chest as he smothered his face deeper into her grasp. Lucy felt her heart clench at that and squeezed him tighter before finally letting his drop back down to the ground, "Does that mean you're feeling better?"

"Feeling better?" Lucy raised an eyebrow and glanced quickly to Levy then back to the boy before her.

"Yea, aunty Levy said you were sick so you'd be in bed."

If Lucy had not been feeling heartbroken already, this definitely wouldn't have pushed her over the edge. She was spinning so many new lies at this point with how much she wasn't saying that she was now putting even Levy in a position to lie on her behalf. This web of lies had to come to an end and Aiden and Levy deserved to know the truth.

Lucy knelt down in front of her son, eye level with the boy before she confessed, "Aiden, mommy hasn't been sick. Some things have happened and it finally hurt me enough where I wanted to be alone."

Aiden hadn't been expected that and, noticing Levy's stiffening up, neither did she, "You're hurt?"

Lucy sighed, "Mommy hasn't been telling the truth a lot lately and I've hurt auntie Levy but," she reached out and grabbed Aiden by the shoulders, "I also haven't told you the truth either, Aiden."

The pink haired boy seemed to realize that something a lot more serious than a simple stomach flu was bugging his mother and the boy stood up just a bit taller, "What are you not telling me, mom?"

Lucy hated herself all the more with how mature her son looked before her; the quiet strength he was providing her was something she wished her little five year old boy didn't have to muster up in the first place, "I've been keeping a secret from you and I know I shouldn't have because you have the right to know."

Levy finally joined in, "Lucy, are you sure? Is Natsu…?"

She shook her head, "He's not here," Lucy looked back to Aiden, "Once Natsu gets back, I have...we have something we need to tell you, alright? I'm sorry we never said anything before this. And Levy," Lucy stood back up and looked to her roommate who had finally entered the rest of the way into the living room, "I'll tell you all you want to know as well. I'm so sorry you two, I…"

And with that, the tears hit home and Aiden and Levy, not knowing anything else to do, came around her and hugged her tight. The three housemates relished in the closeness as Lucy's sobs echoed in the silence of the house.

* * *

Natsu felt lost. His mind wandering just as much as his own feet were. The man had not been able to kick around for long after he helped Lucy get taken care of after returning earlier that morning. His heart was too heavy to be of any help to his blonde companion. She needed someone who was strong and he was the furthest thing from that.

Memories of the previous night continued to swirl around his head and Natsu was hard pressed to just burn the forest down that he had been running through. Nothing seemed to help the hurt and pressure in his chest at the reminder that it was not just him that had brought Lucy that pleasure. He could no longer be the sole provider for her and that thought alone had him running like a wild and crazy man, even having tears streak his cheeks; something that surprised him and shook him to the core...he hadn't remembered what it was even like to cry but each and every time he had, it was always about Lucy.

It was always about her.

Leaving Lucy that first time years ago when she told him she wouldn't follow him had broke something inside of him that Natsu had spent the past five years repairing. The pink haired vampire had always struggled with the duality of his mind that it made things especially difficult. But he knew that her coming with him would have never forced him to come to terms with his dual nature. He had always ran away from it, never having a reason to remedy his situation but the reality was, Natsu had to come to terms that he might never be able to accomplish that.

He was half human, half vampire and it was a reality that he mentally had to battle with daily, something not too many people were even aware of, Gray being one of the few he had let in, much to his disappointment. But that was what Natsu had to battle through and he had never seen much reason to let anyone else in on that struggle, never met anyone who was worth it enough to confess.

Lisanna had been one but that had bit him in the butt and settled a deep fear in his heart to never go down that road again.

But now there was Lucy and he swore he could never feel what he felt for her for anyone else in his long life. If anybody was going to be worth it, she was it. She deserved to know the truth. All of it. Every secret he ever kept from her, every detail of his past. He had once told her some of his backstory but even still, her and Gray having some silly conversation over his royal blood without him was something he couldn't stand. She deserved to hear that all from his own mouth, not some idiot he had the dishonour of calling a friend.

Before he could continue down this depressing spiral of thought though, Natsu felt a delicate tug upon his heart. It was so faint that he almost missed it but there it was, a soft call. The sensation washed over him and filled him and without even asking, Natsu knew instantly who was calling for him.

Lucy needed him and he wasn't about to let his own problems get in the way of what she needed right now which, as luck would have it, happened to be him.

* * *

Aiden snuggled deeper into his mother's arms, only making the effort to reach over and grab some popcorn. He tossed the handful of popped kernels into his mouth and chomped down, savoring the taste of salty buttery goodness. The young boy only paused his enjoyable movie watching experience when the front door opened behind him, his mother, and Levy right next to them on the couch.

Lucy maneuvered herself below Aiden to turn and see a familiar older pink haired man in the doorway, "Natsu, you're back."

"Uhh yea," he mumbled confusedly at seeing everyone right there in the living room, "movie night?"

Aiden jumped off his mother's lap so they could both stand and join Natsu at the door. The younger boy watched Natsu close the door behind him before Lucy answered, "Uhh yea, but we were also waiting for you to get back home."

Levy remained sitting on the couch and Aiden struggled to decide whether it was his place to follow his mother or rejoin his auntie in watching the movie. Before he could decide, Natsu spoke up, "You were? Why?"

"We have something to tell Aiden," Lucy answered, glancing behind her and reaching for her son's hand.

Squeezing his mother's hand, Aiden watched for Natsu's reaction, feeling his own heart beat increase wondering what his mother and Natsu could possibly keep from him. Deep down though, a small part of him was aware of what it was but it was this same place in his heart that kept him silent and patient, almost afraid of hearing the truth out loud. Natsu too, gulped, a sudden understanding crossing over his face before he sighed, looking towards Aiden.

Before Natsu could say anything though, his mother took the lead and led Aiden down the hall, expecting Natsu to follow them to wherever it is, Lucy was taking them, "Hey Lev, we'll be right back."

Aiden heard the distant sound of his auntie's voice but they had already entered his bedroom and were making their way to his bed. The young boy watched Natsu pause at the doorway, for some reason he was hesitant. But the young boy felt bad and his kind heart had him patting the spot on his bed right next to him, catching Natsu's attention with the welcoming gesture. Natsu sent the boy a small smile before coming to join the pair on his bed.

Lucy watched the exchange and felt some worry on her heart let up, "So Aiden, I just want to say that I'm sorry I kept this from you for so many years. You deserved to know and I-"

"Natsu's my dad," Aiden stared down at his knees as he interrupted his mother, "isn't he?"

It was a question but with the knowing air around the boy, the blonde shared a look with Natsu before feeling a tug of her lips as she smiled. She should have known Aiden was already making a guess as to who Natsu was, "He is, Aid."

Natsu was silent, turning away from Lucy's gentle smile and eyes to glance down at the boy. His small head of matching pink hair was still turned down towards the floor, making the older man clueless as to what he should say or do. He answered Lucy's call whether she knew she sent it or not through their newly formed bond, but he hadn't been expecting this confession to take place. But he would trust Lucy's judgement and follow through as best he could. Words were just failing him miserably at the moment.

But he didn't have to worry for much longer before Aiden turned to him. Natsu blinked but joined the boy in a staring match, not knowing what was going through the younger boy's head but not wanting to back down from whatever it is Aiden was looking for. Before long, Aiden leapt forward, shocking Natsu once again. Luckily the older man acted on instinct and reached his arms out to catch the boy as he jumped into his chest.

Lucy gasped but watch as Aiden snuggled deeper into his father's arms, tightening his hold around Natsu. The older man looked down at the young boy in awe, his eyes widening before glancing over at the blonde for a solution. She only sent him a small nod and smile before Natsu gulped and wrapped his own arms better around Aiden, tugging him into their first father-son hug.

As the tender scene played out in front of them, both Natsu and Lucy felt tears prick their eyes. Lucy almost wondered why this had been so entirely anti-climatic but reminded herself that Aiden's maturity knew no bounds as she watched him curl himself further onto his father's lap without question. Natsu only tugged him in tighter, nuzzling his face into his son's hair and breathing him in. If he hadn't been so close to him, Natsu was sure he wouldn't have even heard the gentle whisper Aiden let out against his chest:

"I knew you were my dad. I just knew it."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Sorry this is late, I had it written but I was driving and got busy and yea, no excuse but yea, here's the next chapter. Again, I didn't edit this and tbh, I feel I need to go back and read through this story to double check that it's even cohesive/coherent anymore. Please lemme know if I ever make a mistake like that in the future too! I adore constructive criticism!

Also, I noticed my previous chapter got quite the mixed review lol I'm aware that it was disturbing but also sad for any diehard nalu fans so I apologize. But I feel that this story has become an almost cathartic experience for me and there's something almost weirdly healing for me when I put these characters through really grotesque experiences...hence why I feel it almost difficult to update because when I'm in a good, happy mood, it can almost be difficult to write these chapters because of the negativity it brings up in me.

Hence why I'd like to choose this opportunity to tell you that I'm currently in the works of outlining a couple much more positive story ideas for Fairy Tail (and a couple for Soul Eater if there are any mutual fans in this reader group lol) but I won't post those until this one's finished (because I suck at multitasking with my writing) and once I have them somewhat written out...at least a couple chapters anyways. but they'll be much more positive and happy and funny. So look forward to those, pretty please!

Again, I adore reviews, negative or positive and I apologize for the negative reactions from the previous chapter. I know I lost a few followers cause of it and I'm sorry to hear that...but at the end of the day, that is what this story is about for me so, yea.

I'll quit rambling...R&R!


	10. Secrets

Despite everything that was currently going wrong in his world, in that very moment Natsu found he simply couldn't care any less as he squeezed the tiny hand that was engulfed in his own. Glancing down once more, Natsu felt a rare and tender smile spread across his lips at the sight of the shorter pink haired boy next to him. The younger boy smirked and squeezed his father's hand right back and it only made Natsu's smile grow wider if that were even possible.

Yup, for once in his long life, Natsu felt a certain completeness at having his son's hand in his and knowing that there were no secrets between the two of them anymore as of last night.

...scratch that, Natsu tongued at his dull fangs distractedly, _almost_ no secrets between the two of them. But there would come a day when he told the boy, Natsu justified as he pushed on.

Lucy had been running late that morning for work and had begged Natsu to take Aiden to school. It was completely unnecessary as the two boys had been practically attached at the hip since last night. So Natsu gladly volunteered and it was a nice change for the old vampire, doing something as domestic as walking his son to kindergarten.

"Oh look it's Ms. Mirajane," came Aiden's voice, pulling Natsu from his walk through cloud nine. Glancing down, he saw his son's arm pointing across the road from his school towards a middle aged woman Natsu hadn't met before.

"Who's she?"

"She's my afterschool teacher," Aiden explained a matter of factly, waving at the lady in question.

Natsu raised his head up in time to watch the woman return his son's wave before a different kind of wave crashed over him once he caught a glimpse of the pale white hair that was bundled up in a loose bun. A near forgotten image of a young girl with a short white bob of hair and bright blue, happy eyes flashed across Natsu's mind as he gulped. There couldn't be any relation could there?

As they neared the school, Natsu was able to see the funny look he was getting from the woman though, and it didn't help his growing sense of dread. The world was a small place and he wouldn't be surprised anymore with the terrible luck he had been having as of late. He vaguely did remember a small girl that lived with Lisanna, a very young girl, that Lisanna had always doted on but Natsu had never cared enough to know.

Not wanting any confrontation, the older pink hair tinted man gripped Aiden's hand tighter and turned into the school grounds entrance to make sure the boy didn't wander off to say good morning to this Mirajane. If she was who he thought she was, then he really didn't have the heart to confront her.

Looking over his shoulder at the lady one last time, Natsu gulped. Turning back to Aiden and his school, the vampire knew that the little luck he had was dwindling quickly. Much too quickly if the look of recognition and remembrance on her face had anything to say about it.

* * *

A sigh of fatigue and relief left Lucy's lips as she pushed her front door open, finally returning home after a rough shift at work. It had already been a struggle to focus on the mind numbing world of shift work at a coffee shop with her fragile world already crumbling around her, but adding onto her load the wonderful world of impatient and sometimes disgustingly rude customers she had to deal with today, Lucy was bent out of shape.

But just before she could collapse onto her couch and toss her purse to the side, her cell phone tucked away in her butt pocket began vibrating and going off.

"Hello, Lucy?" came a sweet voice through the other end when Lucy finally answered.

"Oh Mirajane, what's up?" Her eyebrows furrowed, "Is Aiden alright?" A quick glance at the clock told her that Aiden should still very much be at school and not at after school care so receiving a call from his caretaker was unusual.

"Oh Aiden's fine, nothing to worry about," Lucy could practically hear the sweet smile that was probably spread across the woman's face, "I'm actually calling to ask you about the man I saw walking your son to school this morning actually…"

Lucy's face twisted even more in confusion, "Oh you mean Natsu?"

"Natsu?" Lucy wouldn't pretend she didn't hear a sense of familiarity with the way his name fell from her lips, "What about him?"

"Who is he to you?"

If it weren't for the wariness in Mirajane's voice, Lucy would have thought this was just another moment for the white haired woman to matchmake the poor blonde or talk about her lackluster love life. But Lucy only sat straight before responding, "What do you mean, Mira?"

"I was just curious how you two know each other seeing as he was walking Aiden to school is all," Mirajane explained.

"Well he's," Lucy paused, trying to word this properly, sensing that this was a loaded question and that Mirajane was definitely not giving her all the details, "He's my boyfriend."

So lame, she thought.

"Boyfriend?" Mirajane sounded surprised, "When did this happen?"

Lucy shook her head, "Oh I don't know….I still wanna know though, why are you asking? Did something happen or…?"

There was a pause on the other end, but the blonde waited, feeling worry start to choke her up, "You see, I actually know Natsu, or rather, I used to know him."

Whatever Lucy had been expecting, that had not been it, "Wait, you knew him? How?" If she knew Natsu, did that mean she knew him enough to know the truth?

"Yes, I was very young but I wouldn't forget him," Mirajane continued hesitantly, "He was good friends with my mother."

"Oh that's cool," Lucy forced a smile, "Small world-"

"Lucy, you can't continue seeing him."

"Wait what?" Lucy deadpanned, "What in earth, where's this coming from?"

"Please just trust me," Mirajane continued, very much serious, "Is he there now? You need to get out of there now and grab Aiden and run. I'm not pulling your leg, you need to know that-"

"Mira, I don't know what you know, but you can't tell me what to do," Lucy stood up finally, finding herself getting angry more than anything over the sudden accusations Mirajane was making towards Natsu, "Where is this even coming from?"

There was silence on the other end and Lucy felt the impulse to hang up on the woman. But finally the older woman spoke, "Lucy, please trust me on this. That man has done terrible things and I can't sleep knowing you and Aiden might be in any danger and I-"

Lucy took a deep breath as Mira continued on. The blonde might not know exactly what Mirajane was referring to in full, but she did know that the white haired woman's intentions were very pure and knew that she was only worried for the two of them, "Mirajane, I appreciate this so much but I know what I'm getting involved in."

Mirajane stopped her tirade to reply, "Lucy, I really don't think you do, I-"

"I do," Lucy found herself smiling despite it all, "trust me. Now speaking of Aiden, I've gotta go grab him from school, I'll talk to you later, Mira." And just like that, Lucy decided to hang up on her friend before she could continue her monologue on the reasons why she and Natsu weren't meant to be together. Lucy was sure that nothing about Natsu could ever really surprise her anymore, but that didn't mean it wasn't surprising to find out that Mira and Natsu had perhaps come into contact at some point in time. She found herself slightly curious how that went about and wanted to ask the pink haired man himself.

"You can come out now, Natsu, " Lucy stretched her arms up above her head, a knowing smile pulling at her lips when she heard the man of the hour finally enter the living room from the hall way, "Eavesdropping is rude, you know that right?"

Desipte himself, Natsu smirked, "Well it sounded serious, I wasn't about to interrupt."

"Oh so listening in was the better option?"

Instead of answering, Natsu came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on top of her right shoulder, "Rough day at work?"

"So we're not going to talk about the fact that you and our son's after school teacher have history?" Lucy smirked, leaning her head on top of Natsu's soft pink hair, "It was a rough one, but I'll survive."

Natsu chuckled, "Our son."

Lucy joined him, raising her right hand up to curl her fingers in Natsu's hair, "Oh quit it, tell me how you know Mira or you're not coming with me to grab _our son_ from school."

The man sighed and despite Lucy's whine of complaint, he unwrapped himself from around her, "Can we not talk about it and say we did?"

Lucy huffed, twirling around to glare at the man, "Um no, we can't. Look at the mess secrets have put us in, do you think we need more between us?"

Natsu sighed again, looking off to the side, "No…"

The blonde dropped her hands that were aggressively placed on her hips only seconds ago at the sight of Natsu's almost defeated look, "Look Natsu, I'm sorry and I know this is hard for you but-"

"No I get it," Natsu interrupted, raising his hand in her face to stop her, "I'll tell you, I promise just...don't we need to get Aiden or something? I know Levy said she won't be back til late from work and I just…"

He was fumbling and Lucy decided he needed rescuing, "Yes, let's go grab Aiden and maybe drop him off at a friend's or something? That way we can talk tonight if you'd like…?"

"Yea, that'll work."

Once that plan was set, the two wasted no more time putting it into motion. Dressing for the steadily colder weather that was approaching, the pair walked hand in hand towards Aiden's school to pick up the boy. Both deep within their thoughts, the only vocalizations were of shallow things like stories from Lucy's work or what Natsu did to keep busy while he was home alone. It was awkward and Lucy would be the first to wish Mirajane hadn't called at all if it would have prevented this stiff air between them.

And just as they were really starting to open up to one another.

"Well isn't this adorable?"

Natsu and Lucy froze at the sound of a new voice breaking the tense silence between them, "What the fuck, Gray?"

The dark haired vampire was standing only a few meters in front of the pair and yet Natsu hadn't realized his old frenemy was that close, "Did I actually manage to sneak up on you? You're losing your touch my friend." Gray commented with a smirk, shaking his head in disappointment, "Well I'd say sorry for interrupting whatever this is," he gestured towards their joined hands before returning his gaze to Natsu, "But I come bearing news."

"News?" Lucy's eyebrow rose in confusion, glancing from Natsu to Gray and then back to Natsu, "What news?"

Natsu replied, ignoring Lucy's question, "So you found him?"

Gray nodded, "Yes and he shared his thoughts but I'd rather not talk about this in such an open space, obviously."

Natsu nodded, finally letting go of Lucy's hand before turning her way, "Luce, I need to go with Gray to-"

"Hell no," Lucy huffed, "You are not about to leave me and take off together to share more secrets, Natsu. We've been over this, secrets don't do us any good."

Gray smirked at the way Natsu almost winced at the angry short blonde, but felt it was smarter to keep his mouth shut and remain a silent observer of the exchange, "But Lucy, this'll only be a second and then I'll be back home and I-"

"No, I'm coming with you."

"But Luce…" Natsu whined. Lucy's frown only deepened before Natsu finally deflated and backed down, "Fine! Come with us, but who's going to grab Aid-"

He paused as he watched the blonde dig out her cell phone from God only knows where and punched in a number and waited for the receiver to pick up, "Hey Erza? It's my Lucy. Oh, I'm fine thanks for asking, and you? Glad to hear it. I was actually calling to see if you wouldn't mind picking up Aiden from school today? I know this is short notice but something really important came up and Levy's at work you see, so...you will? I owe you big time, Erza. Thank you! I'll be around tonight to come pick him up. Tell him to be good or I'll hear about it. Thanks again, bye!" Lucy clicked her phone off and slipped it back into her butt pocket before looking at at Natsu's dumb expression with a smirk of her own, "There, all taken care of."

Natsu only blinked but Gray's eyes were narrowed, "Did you just say Erza?"

Lucy and Natsu both turned to Gray who was still very much right where they left him before Lucy replied, "Uhh yea, she's a friend of mine. Why? Do you know her?"

"For another time," Gray grimaced before shaking his head, "Now are we ready to go or what?"

"Yea, yea," Natsu frowned, grabbing Lucy's hand again before racing after Gray wherever he had deemed safe for them to chat.

* * *

Aiden blinked dumbly as he watched the approaching red haired woman from the front gates of the school yard. Gripping his backpack straps, the small pink haired boy internally groaned, realizing it was Erza and putting two and two together, he concluded that she must be here to pick him up and babysit him. All this meant to Aiden was that his mother and/or father were too occupied with whoever knows what to grab him from school. He offhandedly wondered where aunty Levy was during all of this, but sighed.

All Aiden knew was that this was going to be a boring afternoon at Erza's house and his parents had some explaining to do when they came to grab him.

"Hey Aiden," Erza forced a smile that screamed awkward to the tiny boy, "your mom called me and asked me to pick you up."

Aiden nodded knowingly, "Did she say why?"

Erza paused, realizing that she hadn't even bothered to ask the blonde why, "Uhh I'm actually not sure, but she'll be back later tonight to grab you."

The red head reached out for his hand and Aiden begrudgingly took it. It wasn't that he didn't like Erza, but something about her worried something deep within him. His nerves were frayed in her presence and despite her best intentions, Aiden couldn't help but feel that he needed to turn and run as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

Fighting back this instinct, Aiden forced a smile and followed Erza home.

* * *

"You couldn't pick a more secluded place could you?" Natsu grumbled as he saw Gray finally come to a stop in a deserted clearing. The two had followed the dark haired vampire into a suburban back road and through some undergrove until they finally reached this small clearing in a small forested area a few kilometers away from any sign of life, as far as Natsu's nose could tell.

He gave Lucy's hand a squeeze, still hearing her catching her breath from the long run to here. Natsu tried to not smirk back at her when she didn't squeeze back; the vampire was certain she wouldn't appreciate the jab at her physical endurance, "So what exactly did Jellal tell you?"

"Jellal?" Lucy questioned next to him.

Gray sighed, his back still turned to the pair. His shoulders seemed stiff but he remained silent despite both of their enquires. Natsu, not being one for patience, found himself growl out, "Just fucking tell us, Gray."

Lucy glanced from Natsu to Gray then back to Natsu, not understanding who Jellal was or what Gray knew. The blonde decided it was best to remain silent for now, her voice not needing to be added to the tension that was increasing between the two vampires.

"I asked Jellal what you wanted to know," Gray began, slowly turning now to face Natsu, his face grim, "and I did, but you aren't going to like it."

The corners of Natsu's mouth turned down, "Gray…"

"It's the same way, Natsu," Gray continued, "the only way."

Lucy gasped out in pain when she felt Natsu's hand tighten around hers, "Ouch Natsu," she grunted, "What's going on? What did you send Gray to find out?"

Natsu turned to her, as if remembering that she was even there at all before he let go of her hand abruptly, as if it burned him. Turning away, he stomped over towards a defenseless tree and sent his fist into it, effectively cracking the trunk. Both Gray and Lucy winced at the act of violence before the blonde turned to Gray for answers, "Someone tell me what's going on right now."

Natsu continued to ignore her but Gray sighed, dragging a hand down his face in exhaustion, "Natsu had me ask an old friend for help after you were effectively mated to both him and…"

"Gajeel," Lucy finished for him, not caring enough at this point to acknowledge Natsu's twitch at the sound of the vampire's name, "What about it?"

Gray continued, "Natsu wanted to figure out how to end the connection you have with...Gajeel, and the only one we knew who might have answers was Jellal."

Lucy tried her best to be patient but the way the two vampires seemed to be walking on eggshells with her was beginning to piss her off, her patience could only take so much, "Yes, and?"

"There's only one way to end a mating connection, Jellal didn't have any more answers than Natsu or I had," the dark haired vampire grumbled.

"Only one way?" Lucy blinked, felt her throat clamp up in worry, "And what's that?"

Finally speaking, Natsu grabbed her's and Gray's attention when he opened his mouth to say:

"One or both have to die."

* * *

"You want a snack or something, Aiden?"

The pink haired boy shook his head, "No, I'm okay thank you."

Erza smiled and nodded, "Well how about you help yourself to the tv then, I have some chores to finish."

Aiden forced a smile and made his way into the living room as the red head started the water up to fill her sink and clean her dishes she had left behind in her frenzy to go pick him up. Tossing his backpack down next to the couch, he hopped up onto the cushion and reached for the remote control. Turning on the television, he skimmed through the channels until he reached his favorite after school kids program.

A few moments later, as Aiden watched the ending credits roll up the screen, the boy felt a resounding urge to go to the bathroom, "Uhh Erza?"

"Yes Aiden?" Her voice came from somewhere in the small apartment.

"Can I use your washroom?"

"Of course," Erza called back, "last door on the right."

Aiden quickly hopped off the couch and ran down the hallway to his destination, wasting no time in dropping his trousers and sighing in bliss. Washing his hands up and drying them with a towel hanging by him, Aiden made his way back to the living room until his eyes caught something shiny and glinting to his right. Glancing down the hall to check if Erza was anywhere nearby, Aiden gently pushed the door to his right open the rest of the way once he saw that the coast was clear. Aiden loved playing spy and this was a perfect opportunity to investigate whatever it was that caught his eye.

Upon opening the door all the way, Aiden couldn't help the small gasp that escaped his mouth. The room, at first, seemed like a plain old guest bedroom: a bed, dresser, some cheesy trinkets decorated the blank walls. But it was the metallic glint of a blade that had Aiden's full attention.

A sword laid across the guest bed. With a gulp, Aiden couldn't control himself as he excitedly ran up to the side of the bed. He had never seen a sword in real life before and couldn't help but want to touch it. Taking a quick look behind himself to triple check that Erza wasn't there, Aiden reached out and grasped the handle of the sword. The pink haired boy tried to lift it up but he barely could as it came crashing down to the floor in a loud thud.

Aiden knew he was in trouble before the thumping feet down the hall even reached the doorway. Looking up just in time to see Erza come into view, Aiden gulped.

"Aiden, what on earth are you doing playing with that?" came Erza's worried admonishment. She kneeled down in front of him and grabbed the sword from the boy, "You should never play with this, this isn't a toy."

Aiden watched as Erza placed it back on the bed again, "But why do you have a sword?"

Erza froze, hesitating long enough to find a reasonable answer, "Well I...I live alone you see, so keeping a weapon makes me feel safe. That's all. But please Aiden, promise me you won't touch this again and won't tell your mommy about this, alright?"

Aiden sighed, frowning at being in trouble and also confused as to why Erza wanted this to be kept a secret, "I promise," he paused, an idea coming to mind, "but only if I can hold it one more time? I mean, you'll be here this time and can help me. Please? Pretty please? It's just so cool and-"

Erza felt a small smile creep up her lips as the boy rambled on about how cool swords were and how he'd promise to never tell his mom. Against her better judgement, Erza sighed, "Okay okay, just one time. But how about I find you a sword more your size?"

"You have more than one?" Aiden squealed.

The red head laughed as she went over to her closet and opened it, revealing an entire artillery of weapons and ammunition, "I have more than one."

Aiden was in awe, his jaw dropping at the sight of the shiny, glittery weapons before her. Erza was looking cooler and cooler every second; who else could say their babysitter had her own mini weaponry?

"Hmmm how about this one?" Erza mumbled to herself, grabbing a smaller dagger-like sword, "This one's for quick attacks. I keep it hidden on me."

"Wow," Aiden's eyes widened as she faced him once more, the sword in her hands. He watched as she gently placed the blade in her hands, allowing for the handle to face him, "Why do you have all of these?" he asked offhandedly as he reached out for the blade's handle.

Upon reaching the clothed material that was wrapped around the dagger, Aiden felt the skin of his hands burn at contact, "OUCH!" he hissed, pulling his hand to his chest, cradling it.

Erza also let out a gasp and placed the blade on her bed before kneeling before the injured boy, "Aiden, Aiden are you okay? Lemme see."

The pink haired boy whimpered but allowed the older woman to take his hand and take a look at his hand. Aiden had not expected that intense amount of pain when he gripped the blade, feeling like his palm was on fire, "What happened? Why did it hurt?"

Erza had gone silent, opening his palm up with her fingers and staring at the tell-tale signs of a burn. The red head knew that the only reason that blade would burn at contact was…

"Aiden, are you a vampire?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Oooooooh snap, shit's getting revealed! And I finally got to show off a bit more Erza...and uh oh, is Aiden in trouble? What's gonna happen? Oh noooo. lol

Again, sorry for the delay in updates. I can only promise you that I WILL finish this story, it'll just happen at a slower pace. I've taken on working two jobs so my time's limited and then when I DO have time off, I'm kinda not into writing every second of it. Sorry not sorry. lol

Lemme know your thoughts and CONSTRUCTIVE critiques! R&R!


	11. Vampires

"Wait," Lucy blinked, "someone has to die?" Gray and Natsu both remained silent, much to the blonde's frustration. She found herself basically growling in impatience, "You guys, quit being so melodramatic and tell me! What does this mean? I have to die to end my mate connection or whatever with Gajeel?"

"Melodram—" Natsu started before Gray interrupted him.

"It doesn't have to be you," the dark haired vampire explained, "I just has to be one of the three of you. To end any mating relationship, the answer will always be death. I went to see Jellal in order to see if there was any other way because well, there aren't too many cases where there are three, three connected individuals in a mating bond."

Lucy found herself leaning her head downwards, staring at the ground before her in silence as she attempted to swallow this new bit of information. So did this mean she was stuck with both of them? She didn't think she could handle that. Either she died, or one of them died, in order to end this bond they shared. Was it worth it?

It had only been a couple days and yet Lucy already felt it was slowly killing her inside. Feeling the gentle pull of not only Natsu, but of Gajeel as well, was slowly fraying her nerves. Even now, as she felt Natsu's worried eyes on her, the blonde swallowed and tugged on a tough face, "Well, I guess we'll have to find some other way then. That can't be the only possible way, right? It just can't be."

Gray only scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he glanced at Natsu, "Lucy, you might just have to accept that this is the onl—"

"No!" Both Gray and Natsu jumped at Lucy's outburst, "No, there has to be. There just has to be another way."

Natsu grimaced, his face contorted in pain at the sound of desperation the blonde was crying out in. His heart broke once more and the regret he felt returned in full force. He shouldn't have returned, come back into her life when all he ever brought her was pain and torture. Natsu had to force his eyes away from Lucy; watching her slowly losing her mind over this was not helping his guilty conscience in any way.

"You two seem to forget that only one of you has to die in order to break the connection," Gray interrupted both of their breakdowns.

The pink haired man wanted to smack himself in the face. Of course! That was all they needed to do, "Kill Gajeel."

Lucy looked towards Gray and then Natsu, "Kill Gajeel?"

Natsu nodded, pleading with Lucy to understand and agree, "Yes, that's all we'll need to do to break the connection. If he's dead, everything will correct itself."

The blonde gulped, not wanting to bank on this hope and yet felt it bubble up inside of her. Gajeel would not be an easy opponent, being a first-hand witness to the damage he caused Natsu alone. The long haired vampire had caused so much damage already from nearly killing Levy to terrifying her son. Lucy allowed the revenge she was feeling to fester and fuel her hope that once he was gone from this world, everything would correct itself, just as Natsu said it would, "Kill Gajeel."

With that one thought in mind, that one answer that could solve their problems, Natsu took Lucy's hand and, after bidding farewell to Gray with promises of meeting again soon, the trio parted ways.

* * *

"Vampire?" Aiden whispered.

A memory, a glimpse of red eyes and long black hair. A monster running off after his mother with sharp fangs and gleaming, blood red eyes. With a blink, it was gone.

The pink haired boy tried to pull his burnt hand away from Erza's grip but failed to as the red head tightened her hold on his palm. He winced in pain as her grip only tightened more on his burns, "Ouch, you're hurting me."

His confession didn't seem to get the desired response as Erza's eyes still stared him down. Aiden felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. Why had she asked if he was a vampire? Some blood sucking, night crawling monster from movies? Aiden had never been overly fond of horror movies but he was fairly certain the creatures didn't exist. And yet here he was, being asked if he was one but a grown up, "Vampires aren't real."

Erza didn't seem to like this answer because Aiden watched her jaw tighten up and her frown only grow before she replied, "Aiden, are you a vampire?"

Aiden was growing more and more desperate. He wanted his mother more than anyone right now because this woman was starting to scare him. His hand hurt and his tears started to pool and he feared they'd start streaking down his cheeks. Aiden hated crying.

A deep anger started bubbling inside of him. It was such a foreign sensation to Aiden and yet he welcomed it, almost aiding the growth of this anger that was pooling way down in his stomach. Blinking his tears back, Aiden refused to show signs of fear or weakness. Something about this lady screamed danger and without knowing why, he felt his body react.

Aiden opened his mouth wide, readying himself, and shouted, "I'm not a vampire!"

Erza's eyes widened at his reaction, he assumed, but before she could respond, there was a distant sound of a phone ringing that cut through the silence in the apartment. Aiden watched the woman hesitate before she sighed, begrudgingly standing up and letting go of Aiden's hand, "I'll be right back."

Aiden watched as the woman left him alone in the room once again. His heart was beating a mile a minute and his palms were sweaty. Pulling his burnt hand to himself, he cradled it again to his chest and took a look at the damage. He had expected to see red skin at the very least and yet when he opened his palm up, his skin looked completely normal. Then why the burning? But even then, when he went to stretch his fingers out, flattening his palm, he felt nothing. He no longer hurt.

The pink haired boy was starting to freak out. Only moments ago did he burn his palm, had felt the fiery pain and yet he was now staring at his hand and moving it as if nothing happened. Did burns always go away that quickly?

Before he could worry any longer, Erza returned to the room, "That was your mother, they're on their way to come pick you up."

Aiden paused at that, noticing quickly that Erza seemed to be back to awkward babysitter mode. Her serious tone of voice had left right along with her when she left the room. Aiden wasn't about to push anymore buttons, "I'll go get my backpack then."

He turned to run out of the room but was stopped as a hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder. Aiden turned to find Erza holding him still, her back facing him, "You will not tell your mother what happened here right?"

Aiden gulped, hearing her serious voice back in full force, "N-no, I won't."

"Promise?"

He nodded but realized she couldn't see him, "I promise."

"Good boy."

Aiden ran.

Erza sighed, remaining behind in her guest bedroom as she let Aiden go to gather his things. Her eyes had not deceived her though. When Aiden had reacted and shouted at her, her eyes had not been mistaken. For instead of normal canine teeth, Aiden had worn a pair of elongated fangs and his eyes had glimmered an all too familiar ruby rose.

The red head was going to enjoy this side babysitting job more than she originally thought she would.

* * *

Lucy noticed almost immediately that something was wrong with Aiden. Upon picking him up from Erza's house, Lucy thanked the woman and she, Natsu, and Aiden made their way home. Lucy had left her car parked at her place, not knowing she'd be running around town all day, so the trio had to walk the twenty or so minutes back home.

It would've been a nice walk as a family but Aiden's silence was gnawing on her nerves, "Aiden, what's up?"

The little boy shrugged and kept walking ahead of his parents who were following behind. Lucy's eyerbrows furrowed in worry and she turned to Natsu to see that he too was giving her a confused look. He mouthed something silently back to her that looked like 'what's his problem?' and the blonde found herself frowning and shrugged. Leaving Natsu's side, she sped up to catch up to the boy. He moved to the side to allow her space to walk alongside him on the sidewalk but still hadn't done anything else to signify that he had even noticed her.

Lucy sent him a pout and nudged his shoulder gently to get his attention, "Hey kiddo, wanna tell mom what's up?"

"It's nothing it's just…" came Aiden's reply, his face still pointed downwards, "Mom, do vampires exist?"

Lucy bit back a gasp and immediately turned to look back at Natsu, her eyes wide in surprise. Natsu also seemed to be caught off guard, returning her shocked look with a matching one of his own. The blonde panicked, not realizing that this conversation was going to happen so soon, "Vampires, Aiden? What brought this on?"

Aiden, being oblivious to his parents' exchanged looks and worries, shrugged, "Nothing."

Natsu sighed, "Do you think vampires are real, bud?"

The young boy paused and glanced back at his father. It had barely been twenty four hours and yet Aiden felt a strong attachment to this man behind him, had always felt attached to him since that morning he awoke to find him and his mother in the kitchen making breakfast together.

Natsu only watched as the boy struggled with whatever internal battle he was having and felt a small smile tug his lips, "Would it be so bad if they did?"

Aiden paused in his thoughts and wondered if it would be so terrible, and yet it only brought about one answer, "Vampires are dangerous though, they suck on your blood and hurt people."

Lucy frowned and opened her mouth to reply but the feel of Natsu's hand on her shoulder stopped her. The blonde looked back to see him and knew this was his domain. She nodded and put her trust in him. The trio quickly approached their home and entered without much else being said on the topic of vampires.

But by the look still on Natsu's face, Lucy knew it was far from over.

"Hey Aiden," Natsu called out, catching Aiden's attention before he ran off to his bedroom, "Can we talk?"

The boy thought about it then nodded. Natsu took his hand and started guiding him to Lucy's bedroom. The blonde called out, saying she'd make some hot chocolate for them and join them later and Natsu only grunted in reply as the boys reached the blonde's room. The two made their way and sat on Lucy's bed, getting comfy before Natsu plunged on. By the look on Aiden's face, he knew that the boy knew their previous conversation wasn't anywhere near finished either, "So you gonna tell me why you're talking about vampires?"

Aiden remained silent and Natsu only sighed, "Hey kiddo, what if I told you vampires are real?"

That got his attention, "But they aren't. They can't be."

Natsu sighed, "And why not?"

"Because," Aiden started but found he couldn't finish.

His father pursed his lips tight before pushing on, "Aiden, there's something I have to tell you. I don't know how you'll take it but I want you to trust me, alright?"

Aiden nodded.

"You trust me?"

The boy looked up into his father's eyes and without even blinking, nodded, "I trust you, dad."

Natsu felt his heart clench at that and although he hated what he was about to admit, he knew it was long overdue and that Aiden deserved to know. Like a Bandaid, just rip it off. Just say it, Natsu chanted to himself, suddenly afraid. Who knew that all it would take to terrify the old vampire was a small five year old child.

"I'm a vampire, Aiden."

The seconds of silence felt like they dragged on for hours. It was in that moment that Lucy came into her bedroom carrying a tray of three cups of steaming hot chocolate. She caught on to the atmosphere pretty quickly fortunately and placed the tray on her side dresser to join her boys on the bed.

Aiden finally dragged his eyes from where they were on his crossed legs and up to his father's eyes, almost daring him to be joking. Finding no trace of lies of humor in Natsu's dark eyes, Aiden frowned, "What? How? That's….vampires aren't real!"

His voice slowly rose into a shout as he tried to stand up on the bed, maybe to try to leave, who knew. All Natsu did was immediately wrap his arms around the boy's tiny waist, "Aiden, listen to me."

Aiden tried to struggle and get out of his father's tight grip but eventually gave up when he felt his mother's hand on his cheek. Lucy had raised herself up onto her knees in order to be at eye level with her son, "Please, listen to your father, Aiden."

The young boy only stared pleadingly at his mother's eyes before bounding into her arms, feeling Natsu's arms release him, "But mom, why? How? You knew this whole time? It's not real, vampires aren't real."

"Aiden, look at me."

The boy felt himself freeze at the soft tone of voice Natsu used, calling him, beckoning him to trust him and look at him. Aiden pulled at the little bit of remaining courage he had and turned around in his mother's arms only to gasp at the sight before him.

There only a foot or so away was what he knew to be his father and yet it was his features that stoked a fear inside of him he didn't think he had held onto. But what stopped him from running away was the smile that adorned Natsu's lips. Beneath the hideous red eyes and the obvious white fangs that jutted out from his lips, his father remained, "I'm a vampire Aiden."

The boy blinked and felt tears prick his eyes, "Dad…" he croaked.

Lucy let her arms fall from Aiden and that was enough to let him rush into his father's arms. The blonde had to fight to hold back her own tears as she listened to Aiden bawl his eyes out into his father's chest. Natsu wouldn't admit it but even his own blood red eyes felt the sting of tears hit them as he tightened his grip around Aiden. Between this and confessing that he was this little boy's father, his heart went out to the tough little guy, "I'm sorry."

Aiden choked back a sob and pulled away from his father enough to look at him, "You're really a vampire?"

Instead of answering, Natsu remained silent as the boy reached a hand out to gently touch one of the fangs that was still visible between his lips. Aiden went about exploring the man's new features, taking it all in and Natsu allowed him to continue his investigation, still terrified of scaring the boy away. Once the young boy was finished, Natsu nodded, "I am."

Aiden seemed to accept it all pretty well and even stunned his mother who just sat back and watched the two interact. Who knew all that Aiden could handle, the boy was only five years old and yet in moments like this, he always blew her expectations out of the water.

Lucy smiled and caught sight of the hot chocolates she had brought with her that were most likely cold by this point, "How about I warm up our drinks and we spend the evening watching a movie?"

At the suggestion of something normal, both her boys sent her matching smiles and Lucy knew in her heart that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

"I'm actually quite surprised," the doctor laughed as he helped Levy go about undoing her neck brace.

"Surprised?" Levy mumbled, gently turning her head this way and that, testing out her stiff neck muscles after so long.

"Yes, you recovered in nearly half the time it would normally take this kind of injury to fully heal but the x-rays don't lie," the doctor paused, frowning as he turned back to the images that were back lit on his monitor, "your neck and collar bones healed up almost perfectly."

Levy frowned, "Isn't that a good thing?"

The doctor blinked, shaking his head and smiling as he returned to her, "Oh yes of course, sorry. I don't mean to take away from your recovery. I'm glad to see everything looking so good. I'm just still caught off guard by how quickly you recovered is all. You've got yourself some good DNA, it looks like. Thank your folks for me."

Levy smiled as the doctor laughed at his attempt at a joke before she grabbed her purse, "So that's everything then? No more appointments?"

"I mean, feel free to pop by or call in and make an appointment if anything comes up," the doctor smiled and shrugged good naturedly, "But I'd say you're good to go, everything looks good."

Levy smiled and felt a weight lift off her shoulders as she nodded and exited the doctor's office after some thanks and a renewed prescription for her regular pain meds. She was finally home free, any remnants of injury left from her run in with what she now knew was a vampire running loose by the name of Gajeel, the bluenette felt a kick in her step. She finally had some normalcy back in her life after the past couple of days of hell on earth. She knew she had wanted the truth, demanded it really, but Levy still felt that her best friend and roommate was still keeping things from her.

She knew Natsu was a vampire, knew that there was even a risk of Aiden being one as well. And meeting Gajeel and then Gray as well, she was beginning to think their small town was riddled with the blood sucking monsters.

Levy sighed. Who knew the saying 'don't bite off more than you can chew' had more truth to it than she originally thought. The tiny bluenette knew she was too curious for her own good but who knew she would ever come across something that would be in her best interest to remain ignorant of?

Her thoughts continued to swirl around her head as she made her way home from work and her appointment and basically her long day. Now that she was at least all healed up and living with that neck brace on most of her day, Levy already felt she could take on the world today, despite her lack of normal. She noticed Lucy's car parked outside and saw three pairs of shoes inside the front door notified her that everyone else was home as well, "Hey guys, I'm home."

No response came.

Levy was definitely miffed as she took off her shoes and tossed her purse aside. But before she could call out again, the bluenette noticed a faint sound coming from Lucy's bedroom. Creeping down the hallway on her tip toes, not knowing what she might find, Levy quietly pressed the blonde's door open a tad further and found her heart just about burst at the sight before her.

There on Lucy's bed, was the blonde herself snuggled between Natsu and Aiden, both of whom were clinging to her. The mixture of blonde and pink hair adorned the white pillows as the three of them cuddled and slept in absolute bliss.

With a smile on her face, Levy grabbed for the door knob and quietly closed the bedroom door properly. She would give them their much needed moment of peace while she decided what they would have for dinner tonight, Levy thought as she skipped down the hallway with a loving smile.

* * *

 **A/N:** How would a 5 year old even react if he found out his dad's a freaking vampire? I don't even know what this chapter is but its progress nonetheless.

Okay, **wanted to address an anonymous review I got from someone** …they asked me if this was a Natsu/Lucy story or a Gajeel/Lucy story, saying I'm making this quite confusing for them and that it wasn't clear. Well, my story description says Nalu but I'll make it crystal clear right now: **this will be a Natsu x Lucy story. It's not a Gajeel x Lucy story.** I hope to God that this isn't unclear to everyone. If it is, let me know.

Again, I didn't edit this chapter much because I'm too lazy so I hope it makes sense and there aren't too many errors. Let me know your thoughts and constructive criticisms!

 _Also! I posted up a new story idea of mine as an almost 'commercial' of sorts. I won't get to editing or writing/posting it until Accord is done but I thought I'd just post a quick blurb of it to see reactions and see if I should even bother writing it if there is enough interest. It's called **Coeur Pur** and it's a very different tone than this angsty vampire stuff. Give it a read if you want and let me know if I should write it! _


	12. Race to the Finish

Lucy woke with a start, sitting up and quickly looking around her bedroom to see what had caused to her wake up so suddenly. She noticed Aiden curled to her right, still slumbering quietly but Natsu to her left was grumbling something before his onyx eyes opened slowly to look up at her, "Lucy, what's wrong?"

She had to hold back a giggle at the sound of his sleep-riddled mumblings but felt it again, felt whatever it was that woke her up in the first place. It was a strong pull, she couldn't describe it any other way. Lucy placed her palm upon her chest, feeling the steady increase of her heartbeat. Her breathing becoming haggard, Natsu finally sat up with her, sensing these changes quite quickly with his superior senses, "Lucy, what's wrong?"

Lucy shook her head, wanting to deny this sensation but knew what it was, "He's calling for me."

Natsu's jaw clenched, "Lucy…"

The blonde gulped, her hand clenching tightly against her chest, wrinkling her shirt from yesterday, "He's…Natsu, I can't…"

"Lucy you can," despite the anger that burned in his dark eyes, the desperation in his voice did not go unnoticed to his blonde companion, "Fight it, Lucy. You have to."

The blonde gulped but almost moaned in pain as another wave hit her, "He's stronger than me, I'm losing fast…"

Natsu couldn't stand this, roughly gripping Lucy's shoulders and shoving her back down onto the bed, "You will fight this Lucy. You have to. Gajeel is not going to win this one Lucy."

The blonde felt tears stream down her cheeks as she stared back up at Natsu. His eyes pleaded with her to be strong, to fight this, but the constant and more rapid waves of Gajeel's pull on their connection was starting to get under her skin, control her again as it did before, "Natsu…I.."

The pink haired vampire growled but something caught his eyes and Natsu turned to see and his eyes widened at the sight of their son still sleeping peacefully on the other side of the bed. Having no other option at this point, Natsu's mind reeled as he looked back down at Lucy, "Lucy, do this for Aiden. Fight this. He needs you, you can't keep going off whenever Gajeel wants you."

He ignored the fact that his voice cracked near the end there but his heart went out to this woman below her. Lucy hadn't asked for any of this and again, Natsu couldn't protect her. It was breaking him to watch her absolutely lose control of her own mind and body at every beck and call the older vampire desired. Fed up with feeling pathetic and useless, Natsu came up with one last attempt to keep his mate with him, "Lucy, I need you."

Natsu leaned down, still roughly holding her shoulders down, connecting their lips and gaining Lucy's attention as he kissed her. Her lips were frozen at first but something about feeling his physical touch against her grabbed her attention as she responded to the tenderness of his lips on hers. Natsu reached over with his hand and wiped a few of her tears away, cradling her cheek with his palm before he finally pulled on their connection. Realizing he was losing his power over her with Gajeel tugging her on the other end, Natsu finally decided it was high time to tug back. The image of both vampires pulling the blonde back and forth by her arms popped into his mind but he ignored the childish metaphor as he soothed her through their connection. He hoped it was working when Lucy's arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer against herself. Natsu felt himself groan in response and tilted his head in order to deepen their kiss.

It wasn't noticeable at first, but when Lucy felt Natsu's tongue plunge into her lips, she noticed that she no longer felt Gajeel's call; almost as if he had given up all together. Lucy squeezed Natsu one last time before letting go of his lips to catch her breath, "He's gone."

Natsu leaned forward and placed his forehead atop hers and let out a sigh of relief, "I'm going to kill him."

Lucy sighed and hugged Natsu before finding herself falling asleep once more, exhausted from the emotional turmoil she had went through. Natsu slid to her side once more, pulling her into him more and allowed the blonde to get comfortable against him. After noticing that she had finally fell asleep again, Natsu sighed and frowned.

They needed to end this connection and get rid of Gajeel fast before this became a regular thing. Lucy didn't deserve to feel this way, struggle this way.

* * *

"Oh I'm so glad, Levy," Lucy beamed, "this is such great news!"

Levy giggled at her friend who was sitting across from her, both girls still enjoying their first morning's coffee while the boys of the house, Aiden and Natsu, worked together to wash and put away the dishes they all used for breakfast. It had been a lovely domestic Saturday morning and they all enjoyed the slowness and routine of it all. As the bluenette overheard Aiden instructing Natsu as to where the plates went, Levy replied to Lucy, "Yes, the doctor said I made a really fast recovery but I'm not questioning it. I'm just so glad I don't have to wear that hideous neck break anymore!"

Lucy chuckled, watching her best friend roll her neck around and stretch. Taking a sip of her coffee, she asked, "What are your plans for the day then?"

Levy sighed, instantly feeling her good mood damper, "I've got work this afternoon and now that I'm up and running again, I really should finally put in a good shift."

"Just as long as you don't push yourself," Lucy warned.

"Yes, mother," Levy sent her a look before standing up and making her way to give Aiden her cup, "Thanks guys!"

Aiden smiled, "It's our turn to clean, you're always cleaning up after me, auntie Lev."

Levy pouted and teared up mockingly as she wrapped her arms around Aiden, squeezing him tight and tossling his hair affectionately, "Oh you kid, are the cutest most adorably polite kid in the entire world! How'd you get to be so cute, mister?"

Aiden was outright laughing as he tried to get the tiny blue haired woman off of him, his cheeks turning bright pink, "Auntie Levy, stop it!"

Natsu and Lucy joined in the laughter at the simple moment of affection between the pair before Levy finally surrendered and stopped her glomping, "Okay, I should get cleaned up and ready. Hour or so before I need to head into work. What about you guys? Any plans?"

Levy pretended to ignore the look Lucy sent Natsu's way before the blonde answered, "Not too much, just hanging out."

Levy shrugged, "Suit yourself, I'll be back later."

As the tiny woman left the kitchen, Natsu felt himself squirm under Lucy's thoughtful gaze before Aiden dropped something into the sink for him to rinse. Using this as a chance to change the subject, Natsu quickly asked Aiden where the dish was meant to go and the two boys went about finishing up the dishes. Unfortunately for Natsu, that chore wouldn't take them much longer and much too soon, the older man found Aiden making his escape and running to his room to play while Natsu was left with Lucy, who still sat right where he had left her, coffee cup still in her hands, empty, "So uhh, Lucy, what are we going to do today?"

There was a pause before Lucy finally confessed part of what was on her mind, "Don't think I didn't forget you weren't planning on telling me how you know Mirajane."

Natsu froze, suddenly realizing that in the thick of it all yesterday, he had forgotten is offhanded promise he had made to his favorite blonde, "Ah right."

Lucy narrowed her eyes warningly, "Don't you try getting out of this, Natsu."

The man raised his hands up defensively, "No no, I wouldn't dream of it."

She held his gaze a moment longer before sighing, seeming to have gathered all she needed to know from his promise, "Okay good, cause I don't need to remind you that she was pretty adamant that I shouldn't be with you or even near you. Mirajane's not the type to just come out and say that about someone."

Natsu frowned, dropping his arms in defeat, "No, she's not, if she's anything like her mother."

She raised an eyebrow, "Her mother?"

The pink haired man sighed, making his way over to a chair and plopping down next to Lucy, "Yea her mother and I used to be pretty good friends."

Lucy could almost feel the hurt rolling off of Natsu as he began to tell her yet another piece of his history. Reaching out, she placed her hand on his thigh, "Tell me about her."

"She," Natsu began and took a deep breath, "her name is—was—Lisanna."

Lucy remembered years ago, back when she had her first unfortunate encounter with an angry Gray who blabbered on about a Lisanna and the blonde was beginning to wonder how deep Natsu's connection had been with the woman, "What happened to her?" She asked, knowing that Mirajane had divulged to her that she no longer had a mother, having passed away early on in the woman's life.

"She died," Natsu turned to look at Lucy, his eyes showing the hurt and suffering that he still obviously suffered because of this, "I killed her."

The blonde gasped, eyes widening, "What?" she couldn't help how quiet her voice had become, as if speaking too loudly would mean breaking the man sitting next to her, "Natsu I…"

"It wasn't with my own hands," and as if to prove his point, his palms turn and opened upwards, clean and still a bit wrinkled from the amount of water they soaked in from the dishes, "but it might as well have been."

She didn't know what to say so silence filled the room, only the distant sound of Aiden spilling some toys over in his bedroom down the hall and Levy getting ready could be heard in the house. Lucy didn't want to believe it but she had to remind herself that Natsu hadn't exactly been a pleasant person when she had first met him. He had his moments of endearment that kept Lucy around but in the beginning she had seen what was probably only the tip of the ice burg of what Natsu was capable of, "Natsu, tell me what happened. How did she die?"

Natsu closed his eyes, his hands clenching as the memories flooded back to him, "Lisanna and I had been friends, maybe even closer than friends," he felt a small smile pull his lips up thinking about it, "she was the first human who had ever really befriended me. She was kind, sweet, and thoughtful. I met her during a time in my life where things were hard, I was…I wasn't in a good place."

Lucy could only imagine what Natsu's life could have possibly been like back then but decided that would have to be left for another time, "How did you meet her?"

"It was an accident. A car accident," Natsu elaborated, "It was some wintery night years ago, but I had witnessed the collision and…there had been a lot of blood so I wasn't too far away."

She gulped and understand the meaning behind his words: blood meant plenty to feed off of for the vampire, "And?"

"It was late," Natsu remembered, "when I went to check it out, I found her still alive, barely holding on." The man clenched his hands tighter then, "I don't know what it was that made me do it, but I saved her. I gave her my blood and it brought her back to life."

"Wait, that works?" Lucy frowned.

Natsu nodded, "Yes. A vampire's blood can either turn you into a vampire, but that's only if you die for real. If you give blood to someone who hasn't quite died yet, it can heal. It's what I did for you technically when I found you after Gajeel…"

He faded off but Lucy realized what he wasn't saying. It had not only been to finish off the mating ceremony but to heal her after being beating up by Gajeel after he had found her only a few days or so ago; really, it felt like a lifetime ago for the blonde, "So your blood can heal."

"Yes, and I managed to save Lisanna and get her out of there and to a hospital," he nodded, "I don't even know why I did it; a moment of humanity? Who knows. Either way, she was alive and I was without a meal."

Lucy gulped at the vulgarity but kept listening, "So then what happened?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "I remember she found me watching her one evening outside of her home. For some reason, I had the bright idea of keeping an eye on her afterwards to make sure if she was, you know, alive and safe."

"That was sweet of you," Lucy offered but Natsu wasn't having it.

"It's not like I saved humans on the regular," he explained, "I didn't even know if it would work, I was going off of instinct at the time cause no one was ever around to teach me this vampire shit." Lucy blinked in confusion but wasn't able to ask questions before Natsu was continuing on again with his story, "So she saw me and talked to me and eventually it lead to a weird friendship, a messed up one but a friendship nonetheless. She was one of the kindest humans I had ever met and taught me so much," Natsu's eyes glimmered and glazed over with memories of her before his mouth weighed and a scowl covered his face, "That is until someone found out about our relationship and decided it wasn't okay."

"Not okay? Who found out?"

"Vampires and humans, many of us vampires have decided it is below us to be caught interacting with humans. Many of our kind see humans as a lesser species, merely a source of food," Natsu spit out, the very thought of it leaving a disgusting taste in his mouth, "It was one of these vampires who discovered us and decided it was better for all vampire kind to end her and save me the trouble of dealing with the backlash I would get from others; better to end it quick and quietly before rumor or word got out, you know?"

Lucy could not only hear but feel the rage emitting from her pink haired companion as the words twisted out of his fanged mouth, "Natsu, I'm so sorry…I…"

"It's all in the past, Lucy," He sighed sadly, his shoulders slouching and baring all the weight of his guilt."

"So then how does her dying relate to Mirajane?" Lucy asked, "Did she know you? Did she…" her eyes widened as understanding dawned on her, "Did she know? Does she think you killed….?"

Natsu shrugged, "To be honest, I don't know how much she knows. I—"

"Hey guys," Levy poked her head into the kitchen, "I'm off to work now, call me if you-"

Both Natsu and Lucy had jumped at the sound of Levy's voice interrupting the serious air that had come over them, still sitting at the kitchen table where she left them. Instantly reading the tense atmosphere, Levy frowned and furrowed her eyebrows, trying to gauge what was happening but Lucy quickly sent her roommate a beaming smile and called out, "We'll call you if we need anything, see you after work, Lev."

Levy stared at her friend for a few extra seconds before sighing in defeat, knowing she didn't have the time to drag the truth out of Lucy so instead she smiled back and said her goodbyes before leaving the pair to themselves once more.

Natsu and Lucy sighed, feeling all at once adrenaline leaving their systems as well as the lifting of their previous discussion off of their shoulders. Natsu took one last deep breath before he continued to finish his story, "I don't know how much Mirajane knows buts he knows enough to realize that I was involved. She saw me walking Aiden to school yesterday and just by the look she gave me, I knew she remembered me. Now, that doesn't tell me much of what she knows, but she at least gets that I was involved."

Lucy nodded, finally putting the pieces together, "Yea that makes sense, because it was later in the day when she called me and warned me about you. I doubt she knows how much I know at all but she knows enough to know you're a potential danger to me in her eyes."

"Man, it's crazy to see her now after all these years," Natsu exhaled, leaning his head backwards against the back of the chair, "Pretty sure she was younger than Aiden back then."

Both shared a few extra moments of silence together, deep in their own thoughts, before Aiden came barreling into the kitchen with a toy car. Lucy and Natsu both found themselves caught off guard once again to the sounds of their five year old son running around the room pulling off 'sick jumps' and 'wheelies' with his small toy car, completely lost in his own little world. Lucy chuckled as Natsu watched with pure fascination as Aiden made his way around the countertops before looping back around and exiting the kitchen as if he hadn't even noticed his parents finishing off a serious conversation, "Well, that explains a lot but how about I tidy up some of the house and do some much needed laundry and you go play with your son."

Lucy stood while Natsu frowned at the blonde, "How is that fair? You clean and I play?"

The blonde shrugged, "Who said I'm getting the easier way out? You haven't played with your son yet, have you?"

And as she left the kitchen, Natsu felt a certain dread fill him as he heard their son running up and down the hall screaming out something that sounded like a gerbil meeting its sad end.

Natsu gulped.

* * *

"I'm home!" Levy cried as she tumbled in through the front door, purse tossed to the side with a sigh of fatigue. It had been a long full shift at work after so long of not being able to endure the physicality of it all given her recovering and all. Reaching for her shoes to take them off, the tiny bluenette rolled her shoulders and entered her home.

But just before she reached the kitchen, in came Aiden racing down the hallway headed her way with Natsu close on his tail. Both boys held a tiny toy car in their hands and were currently racing them along the walls of the hallway. Eyes widening in terror, Levy had just enough warning to jump out of the way as two pink haired racers came barreling past her, both shrieking out claims that they would be the winning racer and kick the others butt. Levy was only left behind in a trail of imaginary dust, watching the two run around the house. She had always taken Natsu to me much more subdued than this and yet seeing the crazy in his eyes as his son looped him once more in their race, Levy realized this seemed to be the real Natsu she was witnessing for the first time.

"Yea sorry about them," came Lucy's voice, "they've been at it all day."

Levy almost laughed at how tired her best friend looked, ironically more tired than even herself who had actually worked a shift, "Hanging in there?"

Lucy gave a tired laugh before shrugging, "How was work?"

It was Levy's turn to shrug, "Eh, it was work. Anything ready for dinner?"

Levy watched with amusement as Lucy smacked her forehead, "I knew I forgot something!"

The tiner woman only laughed, "Oh it's fine, let's whip up something quick together while those boys use up some of that energy."

"Don't hold your breath," Lucy answered as the girls made their way into the kitchen and managed to make a simple dinner for them all to share and soon enough the four of them were all gathered around the table once more that day, to enjoy the evening meal.

As Natsu and Aiden argued over the results of their final race, Lucy only shook her head and told them to keep it down and eat. Levy only laughed, finding the interactions of this newly reunited family with a warm heart. The bluenette knew that their hell wasn't quite over yet, but she planned to soak up this moment and make it last for as long as she could.

* * *

 **A/N:** Kind of a chill chapter, but it's got a bit of substance and I was in the mood for another lighter chapter so here you are. Hope you enjoy! The action will be back next chapter! Thanks so so much for all who follow, read, and review. It literally means the world to me and encourages me to keep writing! I'll also try to make the next few chapters longer...this one is kinda average sized but the next part I wanted to add would've made this chapter too long for me and I wanted to get it up and out of my hair so here you go! R&R! xxxx


	13. Hunter

The crisp autumn night air hit him immediately as the inconspicuous young man slid the bedroom window open. Pausing long enough to take a deep full breath, Natsu allowed the coolness to seep into his lungs for a brief moment before he lifted himself up onto the window sill effortlessly. Stealing one last glance back at Lucy, who was still bundled up tightly in her cozy duvet, sleeping the night away, Natsu began his descent into the night. The blonde was completely unaware of his intentions but the sight of her tucked away warm and safe was almost enough to pull Natsu back to bed. But with a frown, he tugged himself the rest of the way out of her window and exited the house.

It was a very different kind of pull all together that was tugging him out into the dead of night, a pull he didn't feel too often anymore as the years went on and he aged as a vampire. His fangs were always a bit more sensitive when Natsu felt the cravings and hunger for blood; it was never a pleasant feeling, one that had him answering rather quickly if he had any say in the matter. As an older vampire, Natsu was grateful that he no longer had to eat as often as he had to. With Lucy's sensitivity to his whole feeding as it was, to be able to control his blood lust was a bit of a grace. In a previous life, the salmon haired man would care less of his devastating appetite but with his heart within a certain blonde's hands, Natsu knew he couldn't justify pointless killing as much as he used to. Memories of regular nightly feedings still clawed aggressively in the back of his mind but he forced them aside as he made his way deeper into the city; hopes of a quick and easy feed guiding him along the silent night.

Lucy had never appreciated the 'finer things' that came with being a vampire so to avoid the uncomfortable interactions between the pair that would come with her catching him after a snack, Natsu had taken to feeding seldom and only in the late hours of the night. He would sneak out, feed, and be back and cleaned up before Lucy, or anyone else, was even aware he had left them. It was all a win-win in the vampire's mind.

It only took the vampire moments to reach the grungier, slimy part of town. The part of town that seemed to be the meeting place for everything lost and unwanted; the forgotten ones who fell through the cracks. Although Natsu had reconnected with his soft, human side, there was little sympathy for these lost souls. He knew that any loss of life would tug on Lucy's tender and lovingly human heart but it was all the more justified in his demonic one.

Taking a quick sniff, Natsu kept a look out for his fated victim of the night. It usually took him mere moments to find someone unwilling but, alas, it was another scent his stronger sense of smell was picking up that gave him the impression that this night would go about rather differently than most. He felt a low growl bubble up from deep within his chest unconsciously at the smell of this particular night dweller. Without a second thought, the vampire found himself following the stench, making a turn into a dank and dark alleyway.

His fists clenched at the sight before him: a relatively bulky figure hunched over and gnawing on some poor, unfortunate soul. Before the beast noticed him, Natsu let out a deep growl filled with hatred, "Gajeel."

At the sound of his name, the long haired vampire paused in his meal and turned his head over his shoulder to glance back at the younger vampire, "Yea?"

Clenching his jaw tight, Natsu rushed him, sending a hard kick to Gajeel's gut, effectively knocking him off of his evening meal and sending him into the solid wall at the end of the alley way. Natsu watched as the older vampire slowly pulled himself up, rolling his neck, a few bones cracking in his effort, before he returned his ruby gaze on Natsu, "The fuck kinda greeting's that, you punk?"

"Oh I think we're far beyond pleasantries here," Natsu hissed out between clenched teeth, fists clenching out of pure hatred for the vampire before him.

"Gihi," Gajeel chuckled, his shoulders shaking in delight, "Is the little prince pissed that someone stole away his bitch? Is that what this is still about?"

Natsu growled, tightening his fists and fighting back the urge to just murder the guy right then and there, "Still? The fuck do you—You fucking ruined her life. You think this is just something I'm gonna let blow over? Fat fucking chance!"

Gajeel frowned, glaring back at the fair haired man before him, "Have it your way."

Natsu knew an invitation when he saw one and wasted no more words, running at the vampire and connecting his fist with his jaw. The punch sent Gajeel towards the ground but not before Natsu recovered and sent his knee upwards, meeting the older vampire's face halfway and forcing a grunt of pain out of his lips. Cracking his knuckles, Natsu felt a feral grin stretch across his face, "With pleasure."

Natsu felt rage fuel his movements as he blocked Gajeel's attempts at concussing him. His temper flared and although a small part of his logical brain warned him against letting his anger inspire his actions blindly, the rest of his thoughts were screaming to murder the monster before him. He ignored the lingering stings as his fangs elongated and felt his veins nearly burst as his eyes made their transition from dark, piercing green to deep, blood red. Letting all thoughts go, Natsu growled as he sent another kick to Gajeel's side after receiving a jaw breaking punch to the face.

"Is the little prince hungry?" came a cackle from Gajeel's taunting lips, "Your punches just aren't packing anything, lightweight," Gajeel let out as they backed off of each other, pausing long enough for him to spit out some blood and breathe a moment.

The older monster sensed something different about this fight the moment Natsu let out his first attack; this was much more serious and desperate than their previous few encounters and Gajeel wasn't dumb enough to take that lightly. A desperate and hungry vampire was a dangerous opponent no matter what. Despite his older age and height and strength over the man opposite, Gajeel had always grown up in the shadows of the Halfling. Half blood or not, Gajeel had always felt threatened by Natsu and egging him on as long as he had been, was finally reaping the rewards the older vampire originally intended. Sending the boy's world into chaos was always the sugar on top of any cake.

Gajeel watched as Natsu rolled his shoulders and widened his stance, a clear sign that the younger vampire was ready for round two already. This had been a long time coming and Gajeel was not about to waste this opportunity.

Without warning, Natsu ran forward at the taller vampire, fist at the read but unfortunately was intercepted as Gajeel tossed him to the side. Sending a rough kick against his side, Natsu flew. Digging his claws into the hard ground beneath him, Natsu slid to a stop and pushed off the ground once more, not wanting to give Gajeel too much recovery time. Successfully tripping the bigger vampire up with a slip of his leg, Natsu stood and dug his elbow into the vampire's stomach, effectively knocking the air right out of him.

The fight continued to progress in its violence, anger and rage fueling the pair as they let out steam and dealt out their punishments towards one another. Images of Lucy bleeding out and screaming flashing through Natsu's mind as his knuckles bled out with every punch he sent Gajeel.

"A little out in the open for a brawl, isn't it?"

A harsh female voice pierced the air and jolted the pair of vampires into action, both pushing off of each other to face the new intruder. Natsu's eyes widened at the familiar sight of long ruby red hair, "…Erza?"

His voice felt hoarse and he felt a particularly annoying slash across his cheek bone bleed down his face so Natsu knew he wasn't a welcome sight but the almost knowing look Erza was sending him and Gajeel as his senses tingling. Gajeel's muscles were still tense telling Natsu that he wasn't the only one worried about the woman before them. The young vampire's mind was racing to connect the dots before Erza spoke once more.

"I had a feeling we would meet again, Natsu," her stern voice, cutting through the night air and sending the pink haired vampire's hairs stand on end. She turned her attention to Gajeel who flinched under her gaze, much to Natsu's delight, "And what do we have here? A friend? Foe?" She shook her head as if it really didn't matter. It wasn't until she reached for something at her waist that Natsu noticed the threatening sword at her side, gleaming under the night of a nearby street lamp.

Gajeel grimaced too, quickly analyzing the situation and only coming to bad conclusions, "Friend with this pinkie?"

Natsu scoffed, trying to show off confidence he definitely was not feeling in that moment as the two vampires watched the woman unsheathe her weapon. He could say with glee that throughout his life, he had never come into contact with anything overly threatening. As a vampire, there were, unfortunately and unsurprisingly, many threats for his life. But nothing could top this.

As Erza's sword was unveiled, a familiar scent sprung forth, assaulting his and Gajeel's senses and alerting the pair of the oncoming danger that was about to come: Wolf's Bane. The gleam of metal seemed all the more threatening as Natsu realized quite quickly that the blade must have been coated with the infamous herb; a herb that was rather fatal and debilitating when a vampire came in contact with it. The knowing gleam in the woman's eyes only proved that it was entirely intentional and entirely meant to fatally wound his kind. This all lead to Natsu coming to one rather weighty conclusion:

"You're a hunter," Natsu grimaced as the words fell from his lips. Gajeel had obviously come to similar conclusions as he noticed the taller man's fists clench tighter, white knuckles showing how deeply disturbed the older vampire was at this turn of events.

This was not how his evening was meant to turn out, Natsu's frown deepened.

* * *

 **A/N:** I can't even say enough times how sorry I am for seemingly dropping this story. With balancing two jobs, moving back to Canada, having my computer die and recover and lose everything, and just all around feeling unmotivated to write ANYTHING, this story definitely took a back burner. I am stunned and floored that this story continues to gain followers and reviews here and there and I can't thank you all enough! This is obviously an unfinished chapter but I had to post SOMETHING eventually…sorry this is incomplete, but I wanted to at least say something and tell you all I'm alive lol I do intend on finishing this story but feeling unmotivated to write anything despite having the rest of this story generally outlined….I ask for any and all advice and even story ideas! Anything and everything, I'd be mega appreciative! 3 Love you all so much!


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